Charles Theodore Dufton (c.1911-1940)

Second World War Roll of Honour

Charles Theodore Dufton was born in c.1911, the son of Alexander Dufton and Isabella (née Mcsween) of Huntly, Aberdeenshire. He was educated at The Gordon Schools, Huntly and Wellingborough and matriculated at Downing College in 1931, studying Economics for one year before changing to Law and graduating in 1934. He represented the College in football and was elected to the Falcons’ Club (University second team) in Lent 1933. He also played for Cambridge Town FC in five matches between October 1932 and October 1933. After graduating, he travelled to Malaya where he settled in Penang and worked as a planter. He was a member of the Kajang Tennis Club and returned to England in 1938.

After the outbreak of war, Charles joined the Royal Air Force and was commissioned as an Acting Pilot Officer on 23 October 1939 with 38 Squadron at RAF Marham in Norfolk. He was confirmed in his rank on 18 May 1940. The week before, the squadron had begun operations in support of the British Expeditionary Force and, over the following months, flew regular night raids in Wellington Bombers on the Channel ports and the Ruhr. On the night of 11-12 September 1940, Bomber Command dispatched 133 aircraft to attack targets in Germany to the Channel Ports to disrupt the German preparations for the invasion of Britain. A further eight aircraft were dispatched on mine laying operations in the River Elbe and at Gironde. 38 Squadron dispatched nine aircraft that night to Cologne, Mannheim, Ehrang and Ostend. Although the weather was clear at RAF Marham, significant cloud cover over Ostend made ascertaining the results of the bombing very difficult.

Charles Dufton and his crew took off from RAF Marham in Wellington Mk IC L7808 HD-R to attack the port facilities at Ostend. Their aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire while over the target area and crashed near the port’s central railway station at 2.20am with the loss of the entire crew. Two other aircraft were lost.

Pilot Officer Dufton was killed in action on 12 September 1940, aged 29. (The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records his death on 11 September, but all other sources record it as having taken place in the early hours of the following day.) He is buried at Oostende New Communal Cemetery and commemorated on the war memorial at Huntly.

Sources

TNA – RAF Casualty file AIR 81/3221

TNA – 38 Squadron operations record, September 1940 AIR 27/397/22

Donnelly, L, ‘The Other Few: The Contribution Made by Bomber and Coastal Aircrew to the Winning of the Battle of Britain’ (Red Kite, 2004), pp.142-3.

Neil Harvey, Cambridge City FC historian

Image

Downing College Association Football Team, 1932 (DCPH/2/3/5/22) – Charles is second from left on the back row (courtesy of Lafayette Photography Ltd).