Robert Norman Daniel – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 156 Squadron

Flight Sergeant Robert Norman Daniel – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 156 Squadron

Early Life and Family Background

Robert Norman Daniel was born in 1922 in Swansea, the son of William Daniel and Cissie Norman, who had married in the town in 1919. Raised in a close‑knit Swansea family, Robert grew up during the interwar years and entered adulthood as Europe once again moved towards conflict.

Service with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

RAF Warboys, Huntingdonshire

Robert enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, where he trained as aircrew and rose to the rank of Flight Sergeant. He was posted to No. 156 Squadron, one of the elite units of No. 8 (Pathfinder) Group, whose crews were responsible for marking targets for the Main Force during Bomber Command’s most demanding operations. By late 1943, the squadron was based at RAF Warboys, Huntingdonshire, flying the Avro Lancaster III, the principal heavy bomber of the Pathfinder force.

Final Operation: Berlin, 24 December 1943

Avro Lancaster III

On 24 December 1943, Flight Sergeant Daniel took off from Warboys as part of a major Bomber Command raid on Berlin, involving 379 aircraft, including a substantial Pathfinder contingent. Although a diversionary attack by Mosquitoes on Leipzig successfully drew off many German night‑fighters, the Berlin operation was hindered by heavy cloud over the target. More than half of the initial Pathfinder aircraft experienced H2S radar difficulties, resulting in scattered marking and limited concentration of bombing. Only the south‑eastern suburbs of the city sustained light damage.

During the return flight, Robert’s Lancaster was lost without trace, one of 16 Lancasters that failed to return that night — a loss rate of 4.2%. No definitive cause was ever established, and no wreckage or remains were recovered. The aircraft and its crew simply vanished into the darkness over enemy territory, a fate tragically familiar to many Bomber Command crews operating deep into Germany during the winter of 1943.

The Crew of the Lancaster

Robert Norman Daniel
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey
credit - findagrave

Flight Sergeant Daniel was lost alongside his fellow airmen — Sergeant John Hill, Sergeant Frederick John Manley, Flight Sergeant Frederick Henry Morgan, Sergeant Thomas Emrys Rees, Flying Officer Roy Roberts Stain, and Flying Officer Norman John Warfield (DFM). All seven men vanished with their Lancaster during the Berlin raid of 24 December 1943, were declared missing, and are commemorated together, their names preserved on the Runnymede Memorial as a united crew who never returned.

Commemoration

With no known grave, Flight Sergeant Robert Norman Daniel is honoured on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, which records the names of RAF personnel who fell during the Second World War and have no known resting place. His sacrifice, shared with his entire crew, stands as part of the enduring legacy of the Pathfinder Force and the extraordinary risks undertaken by those who flew into the heart of enemy territory.