Flight Sergeant William George Rose

Flight Sergeant William George Rose by Lilian Buchanan. (Watercolour)

Bea Howells and family.

Flight Sergeant William George Rose.

Bea Howells and family.

Kenley 'C' camp football team 1942-43. F/Sgt. Rose standing on the left.

Bea Howells and family.

Photograph of an unknown Sergeant from the collection of F/Sgt. Rose.

Bea Howells and family.

Photo from the collection of F/Sgt. William George Rose.

Bea Howells and family

Photo from the collection of F/Sgt. William George Rose.

Bea Howells and family.

A photograph from the collection of F/Sgt. William George Rose.

Bea Howells and family.

Document from the collection of F/Sgt. William George Rose.

Bea Howells and family.

After leaving RAF Kenley, F/Sgt. Rose travelled through Europe with the RAF and marked his route on this map.

Bea Howells and family.

In August 2019, we were visited by the family of Flight Sergeant William George Rose, who served in RAF Kenley’s various Operations Rooms between 1940 and 1943.

They brought along some photographs and documents for us to look at including a beautiful watercolour of F/Sgt. Rose by Lilian Buchanan –  probably a preparatory work for her painting of Kenley’s Operations Room, which features Sgt. Rose standing on the balcony in front of the green door.

F/Sgt. Rose’s son recalled visiting his Father at Kenley and remembers the huts which housed Kenley’s WAAF’s, in the grounds of Coulsdon Manor Golf Course; all part of Kenley “C” camp, focused around activities at “The Grange”, Old Coulsdon, which housed the Operations Room after December 1940.