| Additional Information (provided by his sister, Kathleen Richards): |
Born 10th July 1915 in Mombasa, Kenya of missionary parents, Dr Richard Kenneth Shepherd and Kathleen Eleanor Ferrar Shepherd (nee Binns).
The third of five children – Duncan, Nancy, Dick (as he was known), John and Kathleen.
The family returned to the UK in 1919.
1922 Moved to 10 Colchester Avenue, Cardiff. Father joined his brother Charles in Medical Practice in St Andrew's Crescent, Cardiff.
Family attended St Edward’s Church regularly.
Schooling – Miss Netta Jones kindergarten school, Newport Road
Stacey Road Primary School (?)
Canton Secondary School
Reading University, Wantage Hall, and read for a Degree in Horticulture.
Joined the RAF soon after the outbreak of war and trained at Cranwell Base for flying training – he was allocated for further training as a bomber pilot. He expressed a conscientious objection to bombing unarmed civilians (this was before the battle of Britain) and was allowed to transfer to the Fleet Air Arm.
He was home on leave in February 1941 when Cardiff was blitzed three nights in succession, which was a great blessing to the family when incendiary bombs fell on their house.
He did further training in the West Indies at H.M.S. Goshawk, RNAS, Piarco, Trinidad.
He was home on leave in May 1942 before going by sea to the Middle East, via South Africa.
We had his address as Sub. Lt. R.H.W.Shepherd RNVR, Fayid, Egypt.
The war news was “We are holding Rommel’s forces at El Alamein”.
On or about 24th May we received news that Dick was missing….over the Western Desert. In our minds there was plenty of hope, that he might be a prisoner of war… or was being sheltered by friendly sheikhs… we held on to hope as long as we could.
The official notification came later, and some details were recorded of his fatal accident on the 22nd July 1942. “He was a member of 826 squadron at the time, operating from Maaten Bagush in the Western Desert. The squadron was equipped with Fairey Albacore aircraft and it was one of these that he was flying, as Observer, when the aircraft went missing during night operations in the Western Desert. Both himself and the pilot, W.L.MacKenzie lost their lives:
Record in the Fleet Air Arm Museum.
May they rest in peace.
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