George Marwood was the first man from the parish to die during the Second World War when his Bristol Blenheim bomber on 114 Squadron RAF was lost on 13^th October 1939. He was flying in Blenheim IV N6160 from the squadron’s base at Villeneuve in France on a reconnaissance mission of the Rhur in Germany. Three aircraft had been detailed to undertake the mission but one aircraft had to be withdrawn due to a burst tyre and a lack of spares with which to repair it. Of the two that flew that day, the aircraft piloted by Flight Lieutenant F Harrison returned and he reported heavy anti-aircraft fire and fighter attacks, so it seems likely that the Blenheim Sergeant Marwood flew in was shot down. All three of its crew were killed that day; Pilot Officer KGS Thompson, Aircraftsman 2^nd Class A Lumsden and Sergeant Marwood now lie side by side in the Rheinberg War Cemetery. And with two other airmen killed that day they are the earliest casualties buried there.