Angus Hepburn and his grave in Edinburgh's Seafield Cemetery. Whilst his entry in the CWGC online database does not give information as to where he came from his grave is next to a number of other Hepburns and I would assume these are his fathers family. I thank Neil Smith for forwarding this photograph kindly provided by Angus Hepburn's namesake Mr Angus Hepburn, a successful actor in the USA. ""http://www.angushepburn.com""

Gerald Marvin was one of three brothers who served in the RAF, they were the sons of Edward Price Marvin and Madge Dorothy Marvin of Pelham Fields, Isle of Wight. Gerald was appointed to a Short Service commission in the RAF and granted the rank of P/O (on probation) in March 1929. In March 1930 he was posted to 99 Squadron, and later to 502 Squadron in April 1934, 58 Squadron in July 1934 and having risen through the ranks to F/Lt on 4th October 1934 he was posted to 51 Squadron in March 1937. He rose to S/Ldr in August 1938 but had taken over the command of 51 Squadron in June 1937 when he was a F/Lt. On 21st April 1940 all of the crew listed above were flying Whitley N1418 on an operational flight to bomb shipping targets in Oslo Fjord, Norway. On the return to England the aircraft ran out of fuel so he force landed at Longhoughton, Northumberland but the aircraft overran his selected field and struck a stone wall. No injuries resulted and the aircraft was slightly damaged. As S/Ldr he was Mentioned in Despatches on 11th July 1940. He was made a Temporary W/C in December 1940 and transferred to the RAF Reserve in 1944. He was granted a CBE during the War but the date for this is not known. He acted as President of the Court Martial which tried a number of service personnel following a strike in the Far East, those tried had not been impressed about the speed they were being repatriated after Japan surrendered. Post-War he remained in the RAF and took the rank of S/Ldr in September 1945 (with seniorty back dated to 1st August 1938), and commanded RAF Tengah on Singapore and rose to W/C on 1st November 1947. In July 1965 he transferred from the RAF to the R(Aux)AFRO until July 1969 when he effectively retired after a life serving his Country. Gerald Marvin was also President of the Scottish area of the RAFA for thirty three years and they presented an annual trophy, the Marvin Trophy, in his honour. He retired from the RAF as a Group Captain and lived in Bishopthorpe, York, he died in 2000. I thank (the now late) Brian Fox for his contact in May 2010. At that time he was partly behind the www.edinburghrafa.org.uk website. Thanks also to Mrs Geraldine Linford, G/Cpt Marvin's eldest daughter for much of this additional information.

He had two brothers who served in the RAF during the Second World War. Derek Price Marvin RAF (39238) was awarded the DFC for service with 206 Squadron, Gazetted on 28th January 1941 and Mentioned in Despatches on 1st January 1943. He rose to the rank of G/Cpt and was awarded the OBE, Gazetted 11th October 1955 for service in Malaya. I thank his daughter Jill Price Marvin for contacting me in February 2014. Derek's twin brother Sgt Richard Price Marvin RAFVR (1313262) died on 23rd March 1942 while serving with 511 Squadron while flying in Liberator AL587 on a transit flight from Gibraltar and Lyneham, England. The aircraft was shot down over the Bay of Biscay and his body was never found and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. He was thirty two years old.

Albert Oettle was educated at Brighton College and joined the RAF in 1937 and received a commission in the same year. The date he arrived at 51 Squadron is not yet known. He was promoted to F/O on 12th May 1940. Following a Tour with 51 Squadron he was awarded the DFC (Gazetted on 22nd October 1940) though no citation for this has been found. He was then posted to 10 OTU, probably to instruct. On 5th August 1940 he was flying Whitley N1411 of 10 OTU over the Cheshire area flying a training flight when his aircraft was mistaken for an enemy aircraft and was attacked and damaged by a 1 OTU Hurricane. Bullet holes in the mainplanes and wing fuel tanks resulted, the starboard engine was damaged but Oettle managed to land the aircraft at Squires Gate airfield. On 9th September 1940 he was taxying over rough ground in Whitley P4944 of 10 OTU at Akeman Street landing ground (near Brize Norton) when the tail unit structure failed resulting in damage to the aircraft. On 18th September 1940 he was flying Whitley N1429 of 10 OTU when the aircraft suffered engine failure on the approach to land at Akeman Street, he was unable to make a circuit of the airfield so landed with the undercarriage retracted. He was then posted to 1419 (Special Duties) Flight. On 11th April 1941 he was flying in Whitley T4165 on a special duties flight flight, with the intention of dropping Plish saboteurs detailed to destroy the Pessac power station near Bordeaux. Over France technical trouble with the aircraft saw them turn around short of the drop zone, a crash landing was made at Tangmere. Despite the actions of the Polish passengers two members of aircrew died but Albert Oettle and three others were pulled clear. He took several months to recover and was posted fit on 28th October 1941. By this date 1419 Flight was absorbed by 138 Squadron. On 30th October 1941 he was flying 138 Squadron Whitley Z9223 that was to undertake an operational special duties flight but the aircraft crashed while landing at Stradishall killing the crew of three. F/Lt Albert Oettle DFC is buried in Hove Churchyard, Sussex but has a special memorial as his grave position is lost. He was twenty five years old.

Sgt Guy Maxwell Brisbane received a commission (44772) on 31st August 1940 (with seniority back dated ten days), he was awarded the DFM for service before his commission and Gazetted on 22nd October 1940 and before leaving 51 Squadron he rose to become Navigation Officer and Bombing Leader. In May 1941 he was posted to 76 Squadron and was awarded the DFC with a number of airmen on 2nd September 1941, the citation reads..In July 1941, large-scale attacks were made on German warships at Brest and La Pallice (including the "Gneisenau", "Scharnhorst" and "Prinz Eugen"). A smaller attack was made on Cherbourg. The operations were carried out in daylight and extremely heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire and fighter opposition were encountered by all aircraft when approaching the targets, which at Brest was protected by a balloon barrage. The air crews engaged succeeded, nevertheless, in securing direct hits on their objectives and in inflicting very severe damage in the target area. During the combats with enemy fighters 21 hostile aircraft were destroyed and others were severely damaged. The precise timing of attack by the various formations of aircraft and their correct approach to and accurate bombing of the objectives in the face of such powerful opposition; demanded great skill and high courage. The great success of these operations was largely due to the bravery, determination and resource displayed by the following officers and airmen, who participated in various capacities as leaders and members of the aircraft crews."

Having risen through the ranks to S/Ldr he was later posted to 7 Squadron and 10 Squadron completing a second Tour for which he was awarded the DSO on 22nd September 1944, the citation for this reads.. "In the course of two tours of operational duty this officer has participated hi attacks against many heavily defended targets. He is a navigator of high merit and has displayed a marked capacity for leadership. His consistent good work and unfailing devotion to duty have been of the highest order."

He finshed the War in Ceylon returning to the UK in 1947 before taking a number of postings around the world until he retired on 11th January 1958 with the rank of W/C. His son married the daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury. His brother William Christie Brisbane also served with 51 Squadron but lost his life on 17th April 1943 when Halifax HR729 crashed in Germany on Ops to Pizen. this was a bad raid for 51 Squadron who lost five aircraft with a total of twenty six airmen killed.