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1914 - 1942 (28 years)
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Name |
Victor Dominic Benefield |
Born |
8 May 1914 |
Wanganui NZ |
Gender |
Male |
Died |
16 Sep 1942 |
Essen Germany |
Buried |
Reichswald Forest War Cemetry |
Kleve Germany |
Notes |
- Victor's Details:
Rank - Flying Officer (Instr.)
Service No. 41302
Aged 28
Notes from a book by ex R.A.F. P.O.W.'s in Germany:
They were flying a Wellington Bomber Mission to Osnabruck. From a crew of six, two were New Zealanders, and they were the only ones killed near Duisburg, when they were shot down.
Victor was the Pilot and kept the craft steady while the rest of the crew bailed out.
On the 9th Sept 1943, F/Lt Victor Benefield was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Location of the Reichswald Forest War Cemetry in Germany.
The cemetry is five kilometers south west of Kleve. From Kleve take the Hoffmannallee from the town centre, which becomes the Grunewaldstrasse. Follow the directions for Gennep, and on entering Reichswald Forest, the cemetry is situated 500 meters on the left.
Plot 2 - Row H - Grave No.6
There are 7654 graves in this cemetery, of these 127 are from New Zealand
https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2003400/REICHSWALD%20FOREST%20WAR%20CEMETERY
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Person ID |
I44 |
Omundsen |
Last Modified |
5 Oct 2021 |
Father |
Percival Benefield, b. 16 Mar 1881, Wanganui, New Zealand , d. 10 Dec 1970, Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand (Age 89 years) |
Mother |
Agnes Frances Murphy, b. 13 Aug 1882, Mt Eden, Auckland, New Zealand , d. 28 Oct 1924, Wanganui New Zealand (Age 42 years) |
Married |
1901 |
New Zealand |
Family ID |
F9 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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Documents |
| Letter 1 Home from Vic, 6 July 1941
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| Letter 2 Home from Vic, 3 Aug 1941
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| Letter 4 Home from Vic, 22 Aug 1941
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| Victor Benefield and the Wellington Vickers Bomber A brief history of Victor Benefield's war service and the Wellington Vickers bomber, written by his nephew Gary Omundsen. The model shown in the document are a 1/48 scale made by Gary. |
| Letter 5 Home from Vic, Sept 5 1941
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| Letter 6 Home from Vic, 15 Sept 1941
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| Letter 7 Home from Vic, 29 Sept 1941
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| Letter 8 Home from Vic, 31 Oct 1941
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| Letter 9 Home from Vic, 14 Nov 1941
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| Letter 10 Home from Vic, 28 Nov 1941
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| Letter 12 Home from Vic, 4 Jan 1942
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| Letter 14 Home from Vic, 16 Feb 1942
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| Letter 19 Home from Vic, 27 March 1942
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| Letter 23 Home from Vic, 20 April 1942
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| Letter 24 Home from Vic, 20 May 1942
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| Letter 25 Home from Vic, 14 June 1942
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| Letter 26 Home from Vic, 18 July 1942
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| Letter 27 Home from Vic, 24 Aug 1942. The last letter.
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| Vic's Medal Record
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| Vic's RNZAF Application
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| Vic's Attestation for Service
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| Vic's Death Notice
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| Vic's Service Record
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| Christmas Card, 1941
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| Vic's Grave Record
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