Kensington Campbell JACKSON

Serial Number: NZ42330
RNZAF Trade: Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Date of Enlistment: 1942
Rank Achieved: Flight Sergeant
Flying Hours: 240 hours
Operational Sorties: 5 Ops (Waikato Times reported 8 Ops)

Date of Birth:
Personal Details: Kensington was the fourth son of the late Albert Ernest Jackson and of Maude Alice Jackson (nee Holton), of Hamilton His Sister was Mrs E.J. Buttimore of Cambridge. Before enlisting he was a clerk, employed by Messrs Ellis and Burnand. He was educated at Whitiora and Hamilton Technical Schools and was a keen tennis and rugby player.

Service Details: Trained in New Zealand and then embarked aboard the SS Athlone Castle on the 2nd of March 1941 to Canada for advanced training on Course No. 41 at No. 3 Wireless School, Winnipeg. He graduated on the 1st of October 1942, and went onto Britain.

Details of Death: Jackson and his crew took of in a 75 (NZ) Squadron Short Stirling III, coded EE918/D from their base at RAF Mepal, England at 20.19hrs on the evening of the 31 st of August 1943. Their destination was a raid on Berlin, Germany, with 621 other aircraft.

Their Stirling was brought down over Germany, crashing at Derental, which is 9km SSE of Höxter. Kensington and all the crew except one Australian survivor were killed. Kensington was just 23

Buried at: Kensington and his fellow crew who died were buried at Höxter, but later reinterred at Hanover War Cemetery, and he lies in grave 16.C.7.

Connection with Cambridge: Ken is listed in three sources as being "F/Sgt K.C. Jackson of Cambridge". His sister certainly lived in Cambridge. However there is a conflicting thought that he lived in Hamilton. Perhaps he had lived in or had attachments to both places. Can anyone confirm Ken's connection to this town once and for all please?

Note: Details of this airman's death were sourced from the excellent volumes of 'For Your Tomorrow' by Errol Martyn, which list the details and circumstances of every New Zealand Air Force Personnel who died in the Armed Forces from 1915 till 1997.

________________________________________________________________