Frederick Bernard Woodman was born in 1923. He was the of William Gwynne Woodman and Mary Ann Agnes Woodman, of Sydenham, London.

Frederick joined the Royal Air Force and became a Navigator with 23 Squadron, flying Mosquitos.

Not much is known about P/O Woodman or his time with the Royal Air Force or 23 Squadron.

The Squadron had left England for Malta late 1942 and returned  in June 1944.

23 Squadron

At 22.45 on 22 July 1944, P/O Woodman and his pilot,  F/L Francis Grimwood, took off in Mosquito PZ174-YP from their base at Little Snoring. They were sent on an Intruder mission to the German airfield near Florennes, Belgium. Intruder crews had a lot of freedom to go after alternative targets in case their assigned target proved not active.

In this case, F/L Grimwood and P/O Woodman ventured north. Their Mosquito was seen to be on fire and crashed at 23.55 near the Dutch town of Woubrugge, killing both men. They were the first casualties of the squadron since its return to England.

At first both men were buried in a local garden. After the war F/L Grimwood was reburied at Bergen Op Zoom War Cemetery. P/O Woodman is buried at the local Woubrugge General Cemetery.

Woubrugge, The Netherlands

See Also:
F/L Francis Grimwood

Other 23 Squadron casualties buried in The Netherlands

Sources:
www.cwgc.org
www.lostbombers.co.uk

Acknowledgements:
RAF Squadron crest © Crown Copyright is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office

Directions to Woubrugge General Cemetery

posted 15 August 2006

If you have any suggestions, comments or additional information, please contact me.

This website is dedicated to the men and women who died and/or are buried in The Netherlands during World War II.

 

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