Sergeant Ronald Walter Dackus
RAF Volunteer Reserve, 1237049, 181 Squadron
Died on active service
Date of Birth: 3rd quarter 1921
Place of Birth: Kings Norton, Worcestshire
Date of Death: 11th of May 1943
Buried: Plot F.38, Northfield St, Laurence Cemetery extension, Birmingham
Awarded the 1939-45 Star, and the War Medal 1939-1945
Son of Walter Samuel and Maud Alice Dackus, of Northfield, Birmingham.
Ronald entered the USA when aged 20 and earned his US Air Force wings.
Ronald then travelled to Scotland where he earned his RAF wings.
RAF Lasham Airfield By Michel Gilliand - Gallery page http://www.airliners.net/photo/Dan-Air-London/De-Havilland-DH-106/0613179/LPhoto http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/9/7/1/0613179.jpg, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27062592Ronald enlisted in the RAF after April 1940 and was stationed at RAF Lasham.
His squadron, 181, used Hurricane aircraft before moving to the Typhoon.
Sergeant Dackus
Typhoon By RAF official - This is photograph TR 1091 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3131686 successfully landed from his first flight in a Typhoon but ran out of runway, soon to be extended.
He exited the aircraft and obtained a lift on a fire tender, but fell and suffered severe head injuries from which he died the same night.
This was the official report from the Ministry but the family pushed for more information but were denied.
Several men were injured that evening but the inquest was held in private.
Ronald's sister, Joan, lives in Teignmouth and supplied the initial information.
Joan Cooper nee Dackus earned an award for 15 years in the Teignmouth RNLI
Maud Alice, Ronald and Joan's mother, left, a WW1 Women's Forestry girl
