Former cadet of the Air Training Corps - 296th (Stoke Newington) Squadron. Died in WW2.
The laminated plaque attached to one of the trees reads:- Sergeant Alan Albert Dowling, aged 21, (Pilot) failed to return when attacking bomb sites in Jugoslavia.
His birth was registered in the 1st quarter of 1923 in Hackney. He was the youngest of the three sons of Albert Ernest Dowling (1879-1957) and Emily Eliza Dowling née Graham (1881-1960). His father was an engineers labourer and electoral registers show that the family lived at 109 Winston Road, London, N16.
He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, service number 1803433 and obtained the rank of Sergeant. On 27 September 1944 he was attached to No.213 Squadron at Biferno, Italy, when he took off in a Mustang III, serial number FB331, to attack targets in The Balkans. He was reported missing having last been seen in clouds 10 miles south of Sibenik, Croatia. As he has no known grave he is commemorated on Panel 14, Column 2 of The Malta Memorial, Floriana, Valletta, Malta.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan
