Driver James Bowers

James Bowers was the son of Joseph and Alice Bowers, of Preston and husband of Mary Bowers, of Preston, Lancashire. He enlisted in Royal Army Service Corps and volunteered for Airborne forces.

Driver Bowers successfully completed his Air Despatcher training and was posted to 63 (Airborne) Divisional Composite Company, Royal Army Service Corps. He was killed in action on 19 September 1944, aged 35, and is commemorated on the Groesbeek Memorial to the missing.

The aircraft that Dvr Bowers was on board (RAF 575 Squadron, Dakota KG – 388, base Broadwell.) was hit by Flak, and crashed to the north of the ‘Zijpendaal’ German Military Cemetery at Arnhem at about 15.15 hours. The crew were buried at the entrance to the Menthenberg, and were reinterred in Oosterbeek after the war. The air despatchers: J. Bowers, W. D Cross, R. Hodgkinson, G. L. Weston. are missing to this day.

In 1986 the British Ministry of Defence were only able to establish that these four men were in a Dakota, CN 714. The despatchers cannot be associated with any other Dakota lost on the day in question. A thorough study of the operations of the air despatch companies, made by Mr. Les Roell from Waalre, has resulted in strong evidence that CN 714 was allocated to RAF 575 Sqn. and it has been accepted that these four soldiers perished in Dakota KG – 388. Up to 1999 it has only been possible to ascertain that the remains of just two RASC soldiers were recovered and buried from the approximate flight path followed by KG – 388. One of these was wearing a red beret. Both were reinterred in Oosterbeek but could not be identified by name after the war. (Battle of Arnhem Roll of Honour, 5th revised edition, 2011)

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