Douglas Rolfe was born in Thame, in late 1919.  He was the son of Frederick Adams Rolfe and Lizzie Maud Rolfe, of Chinnor, Oxfordshire and attended Lord Williams’s school in Thame.

Douglas joined the Royal Air Force VR and served with 38 Sqn flying Wellington bombers.  The Sqn relocated to Egypt in November 1940 and operated from RAF Shullufa from December 1940 where they flew night bombing raids against the ports in Italy and Greece.

In May 1941 the squadron received a communication from Air Officer Commanding in Chief Middle East Longmore,

“Please tell all personnel of your Squadron how deeply I admire the magnificent effort they have made during the last three weeks operations.  We are passing through a critical phase of the war and it may well be that the blows struck by your squadron may prove to have a vital effect on the course of the war.”

Sergeant Douglas Rolfe, of 38 Sqn, died on 5th May 1941, age 21, although the circumstances are currently unknown.

911408 Sergeant Douglas Rolfe, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve is buried in El Alamein War Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt. He is remembered in Thame on the Lord Williams’s School memorial board and is recorded on the Chinnor war memorial.