S P V Bird

S P V Bird

By Olga in Year 11 It seems only fair that men and women who died for this country are remembered correctly.

When I was given the name Sunny Phillip Victor Bird to research for the Latymerian WW2 Casualties Project, I struggled to find anything. Nothing on the CWGC website or RAF archives and no one of that name on Google. After using just his initials, S P V Bird, the search proved a lot more successful. It seems his name was Surry, not Sunny, and once that was clear his story unfolded.

Surry led a fascinating, though tragic, life. When the war began, he trained as an RAF pilot.

He was then stationed in various locations during the Second World War. From England he was deployed to Malta, Libya, and finally Italy where he was made a pilot in a Special Operations squadron, supporting Tito’s partisans. On July the 4th, 1944, his squadron were tasked with delivering supplies to Yugoslavia. The mission proved successful but it cost Surry his life. On their return flight, having dropped their supplies, his Halifax bomber was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Hungary. All 8 crew members, including Surry died. He is now buried in Budapest War Cemetery.

Surry was only 24 years old when he died. It had been less than a decade since he left Latymer. He had a wife and two young daughters. Today, as we celebrate Victory in Europe day, it is important that we recognise those who made that victory possible.