Charlton, Ronald Edmund
- Date of birth:
- September 1915
- Service number:
- 580858/51327
- Nationality:
- British
Biography
Ronald Charlton enlisted in the Royal Air Force as an Aircraftman 2nd Class on the outbreak of hostilities, and commenced his operational career as a Navigator and Bomb Aimer with No. 77 Squadron, a Whitley unit operating out of Driffield, at the end of 1939.
Charlton ended his tour of 27 sorties with No. 77 in September 1940.
Then, following service as an Instructor at No. 13 O.T.U., he commenced a second tour of operations with No. 138 Squadron, the S.O.E. support unit based at Newmarket /Tempsford, in late January 1942.
Commissioned as a Pilot Officer in January 1943, at the end of his tour with No. 138, Charlton was next posted to Transport Command, joining No. 24 Squadron, a Dakota unit, that March. Thus ensued a series of return flights to Gibraltar with assorted passengers and supplies. His subsequent posting to No. 512 Squadron in August of the same year resulted in similar activity, including duties relating to the Churchill / Roosevelt/Stalin conference at Teheran in November 1943. Other V.I.P. flights with No. 512 included such passengers as Air Marshal Sir Charles Burnett and the Lords Sherwood and Wimborne. In March 1944, on being appointed to No. 575 Squadron, another Dakota unit of Transport Command, Charlton returned to more active duty, participating in at least six glider-towing missions, D-Day, Arnhem and the Rhine crossing among them.
He retired in November 1957, having attained the rank of Squadron Leader.
Promotions:
4 January, 1943: Pilot Officer (probation/emergency)
4 July, 1943: Flying Officer (probation/war sub)
4 January, 1945: Flight Lieutenant (war sub)
4 July, 1946: Flight Lieutenant
23 October, 1948: Flight Lieutenant (permanent)
1 July, 1952: Squadron Leader
Novemer, 1957: retirement
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Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Sergeant
- Unit:
- No. 77 Squadron, Royal Air Force
- Awarded on:
- January 17th, 1944
"This N.C.O. Air Observer has now completed 27 operational sorties and has been to an O.T.U. as an instructor and to rest. He has had a number of very trying experiences which included returning from Bremen on one engine, being severely shot up and the petrol tanks holed. Throughout all his trips he has shown unfailing cheerfulness and his happy smile has given encouragement and confidence to others in the crew when things were not going well. His work as a Navigator and Bomb Aimer has been consistent and good, and an example to his brother Observers in the Squadron [No. 77]."
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Flight Lieutenant
- Unit:
- No. 575 Squadron, Royal Air Force
- Awarded on:
- June 8th, 1945
"Since being awarded the D.F.M. in November 1940, Flight Lieutenant Charlton has had an almost continuous record of operational and transport flying. He completed a full tour of operations with No. 3 Group on S.O.E. duties, 12 months with No. 24 and No. 512 Squadrons and over 12 months with this Squadron [No. 575] during which time as the Squadron Commander's Navigator he has led flights on D-Day, Arnhem and the Rhine Crossing, in all completing 6 Airborne operational sorties apart from numerous sub-operational flights to the Continent. Since September 1939 he has completed over 1600 hours flying as Navigator. His work has been consistently conscientious and he is an outstanding Navigator. On the recent Rhine crossing operation his accurate and detailed commentary was invaluable and resulted in the Glider Captain being brought in sight of the Landing Zone under conditions of extreme low visibility during considerable harassing flak."
Croix de Guerre (1939-1945)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Flight Lieutenant
"Prior to D-Day Flight Lieutenant Charlton had flown on 54 sorties as a Bomber Navigator, involving about 400 hours of operational flying. The exceptional skill and experience possessed by this Officer enabled him to guide his pilot, by night, to the exact position occupied by some of the first paratroops to be dropped in the invasion operation. Later in the day of the invasion, he was Navigator of an aircraft detailed, with a glider load, on a similar mission. Flight Lieutenant Charlton has also made a number of flights by night for the purpose of dropping leaflets and delivering urgent stores. In addition, he has been engaged in the transport of casualties of the Allied forces. He is a brave Officer and has set a fine example."
With star.
General No. 65, Paris 5 June 1946.
The investiture was held at the Institut Francais on 15 July 1947.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
Sources
- Photo 1: Susan Findlater
- - The London Gazette Issue 35045 published on the 17 January 1941
- Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 35983 published on the 16 April 1943
- Third Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 36131 published on the 10 August 1943
- Third Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 36909 published on the 23 January 1945
- Fourth Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 37115 published on the 5 June 1945
- Second Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 38169 published on the 2 January 1948
- Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 38599 published on the 3 May 1949
- Second Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 39586 published on the 27 June 1952
- Dixons Medals
Photo
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