Dorothy June Coombes

Dorothy June Coombes

A biography of June, who was the sister of, and bridesmaid to Nancy Hanne (wife of John Henry Hanne). June later married Ken who became a Lancaster pilot and survived the war.

One printed sheet

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Dorothy June Coombes
Bridesmaid to bride.

Nancy Gilford, Jack Hanne’s wife only enjoyed a short time as a service wife. She and Jack had been very much in love for so long and it was tragic that their marriage was cut short.

The day they married, Nancy’s sister Dorothy June Gilford (known as June) stood proudly by her sisters’ [sic] side as bridesmaid to the blushing bride. June was about 12 at the time couldn’t possibly have known that her own future husband was also to be an airman.

Horace Sadler Coombes (Ken to family and friends) was in born in [sic] 1922 in Birkenhead.
He was just eighteen the year Jack was killed.
War was raging over most of Europe and Ken like other young, fit and able men of the time would have been called up.
It is highly likely that Ken volunteered for the RAF rather than wait to be called up as a regular soldier.

Ken became a Lancaster pilot and served with the prestigious Pathfinder force on No 582 and No 626 squadrons.
Ken logged up 23 successful missions with the Pathfinders and opted to stay in the RAF after the war.
Ken and June met after the War and were married in Shrewsbury in August 1952.

June became a peacetime Air Force wife and enjoyed a marriage very different from that of her sister.
Ken remained in the RAF throughout his working life. He eventually retired with the rank of Squadron leader in 1978 having logged up 7000 flying hours in 48 different types of Aircraft.
Kem Coombes passed away in August 1990 at the age of 68. His wife outlived him and passed away in Nov 2013, June was 87.

Following on the family tradition, Ken and June’s son Clive Coombes (Jacks’ nephew) has also just finished a long career in the RAF. He received the OBE and recently retired with the rank of group Captain.