Denis Henry Ralph Plear was born in 1918, the son of Harry and Dorothy G. Plear, of Hillingdon, Middlesex.

Not much is known about Denis. He joined the Royal Air Force and beca,e a (co-)pilot on Dakota's with 48 Squadron.

During Market Garden, the airborne landings near Arhnem, Nijmegen and Eindhoven, he co-piloted an  Dakota which carried paratroopers to Arnhem on 19th September, 1944. During the mission, his aircraft was badly damaged but his crew uninjured.

48 Squadron

Denis and his crew went missing on second mission over Arnhem on 21st September, 1944, when his aircraft was attacked and shot down by enemy fighters just after supplies had been unloaded. They crashed near the town of Zeeland.

F/S Denis Plear and his pilot were at the time believed to have lost their lives, as well as an Army crew of specially trained un-loaders (dispatchers). He was officially presumed dead in May, 1945.

F/S Denis Plear is buried at Zeeland Roman Catholic Cemetery.

Zeeland, The Netherlands

See also:
P/O David Webb

Other casualties of 48 Squadron buried in the Netherlands

Sources:
www.cwgc.org
War Service records 1939 - 1940, Canada Bank of Commerce, Toronto 1947

Directions to Zeeland Roman Catholic Cemetery

posted 25 July 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.

 

Home | Search | Research | About