Peter William Froom – Royal Air Force, 59 Squadron

Aircraftman 2nd Class Peter William Froom – Royal Air Force, 59 Squadron

Early Life and Family Background

Peter William Froom

Peter William Froom was born in 1921 in Ottery St Mary, Devon, the son of John Churchill Froom and Mary Ann Read. He spent his earliest years in rural Devon before later family movements brought him to South Wales.

The Family in the 1921 Census

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records the Froom family living at Metcombe, Ottery St Mary, Devon. John Churchill, aged thirty‑four and born in Devon, was employed as a Butcher, while his wife Mary Ann, aged twenty‑eight and born in Wiltshire, undertook household duties. Their children — Hilda Mary, aged one, and Peter William, then just two months old — were recorded in the home, along with a visitor, Catherine Clad, aged thirty‑six. The census captures the family at the very beginning of Peter’s life.

The Family in Swansea

By the outbreak of the Second World War, the Froom family had moved to Cwmbwrla, Swansea, where Peter spent his later youth before entering wartime service.

Service with the Royal Air Force

Peter enlisted in the Royal Air Force, serving with No. 59 Squadron as an Aircraftman 2nd Class (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner). In the early months of the war, the squadron operated Bristol Blenheim IV aircraft from Poix, France, undertaking reconnaissance, patrol, and early bombing operations in support of the British Expeditionary Force.

Blenheim IV

The Crash at Poix – 4 May 1940

On 4 May 1940, Peter was aboard Blenheim IV L4857 during a night‑flying exercise at Poix, France. The aircraft was not returning from an operational sortie but was engaged in night‑landing practice, a routine yet hazardous requirement for crews preparing for night operations. During the landing attempt, the Blenheim overshot the runway. The pilot initiated a second circuit to reposition for another landing, but during this manoeuvre the aircraft lost control and crashed approximately four miles from the airfield at around 10.00 p.m. The Blenheim burned out on impact, and all three crew members were killed. The accident occurred during a period of intense operational pressure, only days before the German offensive began, when RAF units in France were flying in deteriorating conditions from airfields with limited lighting and facilities.

Peter William Froom
Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery credit - findagrave

The Crew of Blenheim L4857

The crew of Blenheim L4857 comprised Pilot Officer Gordon Owen Arscott, who served as pilot, Sergeant George Harrison Barford, the observer, and Aircraftman 2nd Class Peter William Froom, the wireless operator and air gunner. All three men lost their lives when the aircraft crashed during a night‑landing attempt at Poix on 4 May 1940, and they now rest together at Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, Hautot‑sur‑Mer, Seine‑Maritime, France.

Burial and Commemoration

Peter is buried at Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, where his grave stands among those of Commonwealth airmen who served in the early and difficult months of the war. His loss forms part of the wider story of the RAF’s presence in France during the spring of 1940, a period marked by rapid escalation, heavy strain, and increasing danger as the German invasion approached.