Goldstone, Albert Abraham (Albert)

Sergeant

No. 979911, 143 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Killed in action on Sunday 1 August 1943

No known grave

Commemorated:

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, England (Panel 150)

Belfast Hebrew Congregation Memorial Plaque in Belfast Synagogue

Memorial Stone on the Goldstone Grave in Jewish Cemetery, Carnmoney

Albert Goldstone Memorial Cup for Table Tennis

BIOGRAPHY

After Sergeant Albert Abraham Goldstone (No. 979911) was killed in action, it was reported in the press that his mother lived in Glen Road, Craigavad.  Her name was Kate Goldstone and the Goldstone family owned the Spinning Mill shop.

Albert Abraham Goldstone was educated at Chorlton High School, Manchester and he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1939.  It was also reported that he had two brothers serving with the RAF.  One of them, Flying Officer Jack Goldstone, was Irish table tennis champion in 1940 and he also held the Ulster championship.

In June 1941, 143 Squadron was formed at RAF Aldergrove as a long-range fighter unit in Coastal Command.  Equipped with Bristol Beaufighter aircraft, the Squadron moved to north-east England and then to Scotland for convoy patrols along the east coast. In December 1941, 143 Squadron became a training unit. In August 1942, the Squadron moved to East Anglia for convoy patrols and air-sea rescue missions and in November 1942 became operational on anti-shipping raids. In August 1943, 143 Squadron moved to Cornwall to provide fighter support for anti-submarine aircraft operating over the Bay of Biscay.

Sergeant Albert Abraham Goldstone (No. 979911) was killed in action on 1 August 1943, his body was never recovered, and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.  The other man who died was:

• Sergeant Cyril Henry William Watts (aged 23) of Stratford, Essex

According to the school, student records in Chorlton High School do not go back as far as the Second World War and the school does not have a war memorial.

Sergeant Albert Abraham Goldstone (No. 979911) is commemorated on the Belfast Hebrew Congregation Memorial Plaque in Belfast Synagogue and on a Memorial Stone on the Goldstone Grave in the Jewish Cemetery, Carnmoney.

His brother, John Philip Goldstone, instituted the Albert Goldstone Memorial Cup for table tennis in 1949.