Leading Seaman Edward Henry Roff Parkin
Royal Navy, HMS Illustrious D/JX 144199
Date of Birth: 30th of December 1919
Place of Birth: Teignmouth, Devon
Date of Death: 10th of January 1941, aged 21
Buried: Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 46, Column 1
Awarded the 1939-45 Star and the War Medal 1939-1945
Son of Florence May M Parkin (née Roff) of Teignmouth, Devon.
HMS Illustrious
HMS Illustrious was part of Malta convoys between September-October, and again on Malta convoys from November 1940 until January 1941.
HMS Illustrious attacked by dive bombers, 10th of January 1941, in the Mediterranean, off the Italian island of Pantelleria in the first action by German bombers in the Mediterranean. © IWM A 4161
On the 10th of January 1941, HMS Illustrious was heavily damaged by air attack by German dive-bombers, when the armoured flight deck armour was penetrated by a 1100lb (500kg) bomb. That and six other bomb hits kept her out of action until the following December.
