College
Shoreditch College
Service number
925963
WW2 rank
Sergeant Flight Engineer
103 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Theatre of war
Europe
Date of death
21 January, 1943
Location of death
Enschede
Buried/memorial
Enschede Eastern General Cemetery
Biography
Sergeant Flight Engineer Anthony Marshall Willis graduated from Shoreditch College in 1937. It is not known if he held a job between then and when war was declared, it is likely he was a teacher during that period. After three raids in as many nights Sgt Willis and his crew of 6 were sent on a raid on Essen on 21 January 1943. Due to the succession of raids their Lancaster W4335 PM-F was having problems with one of its engines. As written by David Fell, “Later that evening 8 year old Gerrit Zijlstra was standing outside his house in Enschede, Holland listening to the bombers flying overhead. At about 19.35 local time he saw tracer fired in the night sky to the North of Enschede. He then saw an aircraft on fire coming in his direction. Suddenly the blazing aircraft changed direction and crashed in the middle of the town of Enschede. No civilians were killed…” Everyone on the aircraft was killed and are all buried at the Enschede Eastern General Cemetery. Sgt Willis’ headstone reads, “May we be worthy of his sacrifice”.
Sources
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.northlincsweb.net