Pilot Officer, RAF
Born: April 20th 1918
Died: June 22nd 1944
Age at Death: 26
Died in an accident in England on June 22nd 1944
Swimming 8 1935
George was born in Thanet, Kent, on 20 April 1918, to Francis Russel, a veteran of the First World War who later became an estate agent, and his wife Adelina (née Elliott). At the College George was in the swimming team, and a corporal in the Officer Training Corps.
During the Second World War he served as a pilot in the Air Observation Post 661 Squadron. The pilots, who belonged to the army, looked for targets on the ground that could be attacked by artillery or aircraft, and directed their fire. In addition, they undertook reconnaissance, taking aerial photos. Their role was crucial in the 1944 reconquest of France, when the Allies were outnumbered by the Germans but still won, largely because of the intelligent use of superior airpower.
However, Russel was fated not to take part in this enterprise: a month before his squadron flew to Normandy, he was killed in an accident. This was probably a plane crash, given the large number of men who died in aircraft accidents during the war, though we do not know this for sure. He is buried in the St Peter and St Paul Churchyard in Cudham, Kent.