George Arthur Yates – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 90 Squadron

Sergeant George Arthur Yates – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 90 Squadron

Early Life

George Arthur Yates was born in 1921 in Swansea, the son of George Yates and Mary Ellen Yates. Very little survives in the official record regarding his early childhood, and unlike many of the other Cwmgelli servicemen, his formative years do not appear in the surviving census material. What remains is the outline of a Townhill boy who grew up during the inter‑war years and entered adulthood as the world moved once more towards conflict.

Royal Air Force Service

George enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, serving as a Sergeant Wireless Operator/Air Gunner with 90 Squadron, based at RAF Tuddenham, Suffolk. The squadron operated heavy bombers, including the Stirling III, and its aircrews faced constant danger in both operations and training flights.

Recognition in the South Wales Daily Post

South Wales Daily Post

George’s name first appeared in the South Wales Daily Post in June 1943, when the newspaper reported his promotion. The article described him as an old Townhill schoolboy who, following the death of his parents, lived with his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Brain, at 9 Glyndwr Place, Townhill. Before joining the R.A.F., George had worked at the docks, part of the labouring life that shaped many young men of Townhill during the inter‑war years. His promotion was noted with pride in the local press, marking the progress of a Swansea airman whose service carried him far beyond the city where he grew up.

George Arthur Yates
Cwmgelli Cemetery, Swansea
credit - findagrave

Stirling III

Death and Burial

Later that same year, tragedy struck. On 20 October 1943, George was killed when the Stirling III in which he was flying struck trees at Ipsden, near Benson, Oxfordshire, during an air test. His body was brought home to Swansea and laid to rest at Cwmgelli Cemetery, where he is remembered among the city’s Second World War dead. George's burial marked the last Second World War burial