Francis Wood was born on 14th December 1921, the youngest of three sons born to Henry S and Anna Wood, of Aston Mullins Farm in Ford, Buckinghamshire. He attended Lord Williams’s School in Thame from 1931 to 1939.

Frank joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in September 1939 and trained as a pilot. In 1941 he was serving with 18 Squadron at RAF Oulton based on the Blickling Hall Estate in Norfolk, where they flew Bristol Blenheim bombers. Frank was flying Bristol Blenheim Mk IV L8864 on the day he died, 25th May 1941, aged just 19 years. On board with him were Sgt E G Baker and Sgt C N Harris.

They left the airfield at 05:50hrs on an anti-­shipping mission and carried out an attack on a shore Battery Agger but were hit by machine gun fire and crashed into the sea 30 metres off the coast of Thyborøn, Denmark at 08:10hrs.
Frank’s body was recovered from the sea but he had been hit in the head by a bullet.

Sgt Baker’s body washed ashore and was buried in Lemvig with Frank. Sgt Harris survived the crash and he was subsequently captured and interned in a PoW camp.

926082 Sergeant Francis Wood, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, is buried in Lemvig Cemetery, West Jutland, Denmark. He is remembered in Thame on Lord Williams’s School Memorial Board and his name is also remembered on Ford War Memorial.