User:Dumontn/sandbox

François Joseph Dumont 1918 - 1997

Born 11th October 1918 near Toulouse, France

Ordre National de la Légion D'Honneur - Commander

François Dumont received France's highest medal for his efforts during WWII. He saw action in northern Europe and Africa with the RAF and l'Armée de l'air.

WWII

Francois Dumont war diary

He joined the Free French resistance in London, alongside General de Gaulle. He became a gunner in the Royal Air Force.

RAF342 Squadron "Lorraine" ] based in Norfolk England, and l'Armée de l'air based in north Africa.

On 1st November 1942 while serving in Africa, aboard the merchant ship SS Mendoza, German U-boat 178 torpedoed the ship off Durban, South Africa. Of the 403 passengers and crew, 150 were killed. Some survivors having spent 72 hours in the Indian Ocean.

SS Mendoza - Shipwreck report

On the night of 4th August 1944, flying an RAF Douglas A-20 Boston, François Dumont (gunner / Radio / Navigator) was shot down by anti-aircraft guns near Falaise, France. He survived, but two of his crew were killed

RAF342 Squadron "Lorraine"

He went on to become a french diplomat with L'Ambassade de France working as a cipher.

He died in Ashford, Kent on 2nd May 1997