Newspaper photo

“North Shields DFM Pathfinder missing.
The news that Pilot Officer George Kirkby Chapman had been awarded the D.F.M. for gallantry and devotion to duty, came as a great shock to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. T. Chapman, of 19 Oswin Terrace, Balkwell. Mrs. Chapman said that her son was posted missing from operations over enemy territory five weeks ago, and no news of him has been received since then, apart from the announcement of his award yesterday.

Pilot officer Chapman, a Pathfinder, is 21, and was born in North Shields, attending Ralph Gardner Senior School. Before volunteering for the R.A.F. in 1941 he was serving his time as an electrician.”

The Shields Daily News 10/11/1944 reports:

“Mr. and Mrs. T. Chapman, of 19 Oswin Terrace, Balkwell, have received word that their 21-year old son, Pilot Officer George Kirkley Chapman, is now a prisoner of war in Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman were informed that their son was missing from operations on August 14th.”