Sydney Douglas Baldachin

Sydney Douglas Baldachin (29 June 1921 Que Que Rhodesia -16 August 1941 New Balderton, England) service number 778405, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, was the eldest son of Rudolph Baldachin (1891- 1953) and Florence Baldachin nee Kiel (1898 -1963) of Bulawayo, Rhodesia. He was born in Que Que, Rhodesia. The family moved to Port Elizabeth, South Africa and then returned to Southern Rhodesia. He and his siblings all began their schooling at the Bulawayo Convent.
During World War Two, Sydney enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. On the 28 May 1941 he was sent to England to train as a fighter pilot with the RAF. He died in an aircraft accident. Hampden X2959 took off from RAF Balderton for night circuits and landing training exercise. The aircraft was slightly off course and while trying to find the airfield at 0025 hours it hit some trees and then plunged down into houses in London Road, New Balderton. Shortly after impact the aircraft burst into flames with three houses being totally destroyed. He was one of the two crew who were killed and the third crew member was slightly injured. When Sydney left for England, his sister Annette Cesler nee Baldachin (1923-1989) , who was at the University of Cape Town at the time, wrote in her diary that day “my small world, the only one which really matters, is crumbling to pieces beneath my fingers…” She never saw her brother Sydney again as he was killed on the training mission. He is buried in Rose Hill Jewish Cemetery, Doncaster, England. A memorial stone was erected by the family in the Bulawayo Cemetery, Zimbabwe.
Sources:
http://www.southafricawargraves.org/search/details.php?id=976.
https://www.geni.com/people/Sydney-Baldachin/6000000001802107486.
Baldachin Family Zimbabwe Jewish Community https://zjc.org.il/baldachin/