Edwin Thomas Arthur Deacon

Pilot Officer Edwin Thomas Arthur Deacon — The Second Victim of the 19^th  of August 1942 Accident, Buried at St. Hilary

Early Life

1921 Census

Born in 1917 in India, Edwin Thomas Arthur Deacon was the son of Alfred Ernest Deacon and Lillie Jane Gardner. By the time of the 1921 Census, the Deacons were living at 21 Hatherly Road, Reading, with Edwin’s grandparents, George and Alice Deacon. George, aged 68, had retired after serving as a pattern maker at the Huntley & Palmer biscuit factory, while Alfred, aged 38, was an officer in the Royal Engineers, later rising to the rank of Captain in the Indian Army. Edwin’s older brother, Leslie William Richard, was eight, and Edwin himself was just four.

Pre-War Service

1939 Register 

By 1939, Edwin was living with his mother at 1 Weald Rise, Reading, and working as a bank clerk. He also served as a Special Constable, an early sign of his commitment to public duty. With the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, embarking on a career of active service that would tragically be cut short.

Death and Burial

Wellington Mk VIII “Leigh Light”

On 19^th August 1942, Edwin was serving as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner with No. 172 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command, flying in a Vickers Wellington Mk VIII “Leigh Light”.  Based at RAF Chivenor, the squadron specialised in night anti-submarine operations, using the powerful Leigh Light searchlamp to hunt U-boats after dark.

That evening, the Wellington failed to return from its patrol. Official records state that it crashed into the sea during an anti-submarine mission, and later accounts suggest it was most likely the victim of friendly fire in Swansea Bay. Local histories point to the possibility that the fire came from an American oil tanker, often identified as the SS Gulf of Mexico, with the crash site placed near the Scarweather Lightship. Edwin and his crewmates were all lost with the aircraft.

Edwin Thomas Arthur Deacon
St. Hilary churchyard, Killay
credit - findagrave

South Wales is known for its powerful tides—second only to those of Newfoundland’s Bay of Fundy—and ten days later, on 29^th August 1942, Edwin’s body was washed ashore on Oxwich Beach. He was laid to rest with full military honours at St. Hilary Churchyard, Killay, on 8^th September 1942, joining the growing ranks of young men from across the world buried there.

Legacy

Though only 25 years old, Edwin Deacon’s life reflects the quiet courage of those who answered the call to serve far from home. His story is part of the broader tragedy of the 19 August 1942 accident, which claimed several young airmen of No. 172 Squadron during a mission meant to protect Allied shipping. The uncertainty surrounding the cause of his death—whether mechanical failure, misidentification, or friendly fire—underscores the hazards faced daily by Coastal Command crews.

Today, Edwin’s grave at St. Hilary stands as a reminder of the international character of the air war, where men from across Britain and the wider Empire gave their lives to keep the seas free. His name is remembered not only in the records of the RAF but also in the collective memory of Killay, where his sacrifice endures alongside those of his comrades.