Sergeant Alexander V S Blakeway

Sergeant Alexander Victor Selby Blakeway was the son of Joseph and Lily Eugenia Blakeway, and grandson of William H J Selby, of Dudley, Worcestershire.

He originally enlisted into the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry and later volunteered for airborne forces.

He attended Parachute Training Course 60 at RAF Ringway which started on 12 April 1943. The course cadre comprised of 165 trainees; weather conditions were turbulent and gusty throughout, causing awkward oscillation for all descents except the last jump on the course. The instructors marked this as an interesting course marred by a crop of injuries. Fourteen trainees were injured, nine more seriously including Sgt Blakeway who fractured his left foot as a result of a backward landing on uneven ground.

After returning to Ringway to complete his parachute training he served with C Company, 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion.

The Battalion jumped into Normandy on D-Day the 6th June 1944 and relieved the glider-borne coup de main that had captured the bridges across the Orne River and Canal. It participated in the defensive battles around Breville and the eventual break-out to the Seine.

In late August C Company moved to search the village of Bonnemont which was cleared with very little opposition. Later, on 23 August, C Coy moved into Pont L’Eveque, initially by jeeps until enemy fire forced them to proceed on foot. It cleared the town as far as the railway station until it was ordered to withdraw. Sgt Blakeway was killed during this engagement to clear Pont L’ Eveque.

Sergeant Blakeway died on 23 August 1944, aged 27 years old. He is now buried at Ranville War Cemetery, Normandy.

Headstone photograph taken 2010.