**HONORING the War-Dead from Doylestown, Bucks County, PA. *__*Samuel was 23 years old. Killed on 21 Feb.1945 in Raid over European Area. Find-a-Grave; **https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8248459

HONORED;

Birth: Feb. 6, 1922
Doylestown
Bucks County
Pennsylvania, USA Death: Feb. 21, 1945
Essex, England
Son of Samuel and Mary Kershaw, husband to Winnie Ward; Served as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 55th Fighter Group, 8th US Army AirForce; his plane crashed at North Stifford, Essex, England during World War II; on 3 September 1999 a plaque and street (Kershaw Close) were dedicated in his honor at the site of his crash at what is today a housing development known as Chafford Hundred. This posthumous honor came about through the efforts of Ken Rydings, who had been a 13 year boy living in North Stifford in 1945 and his US correspondent Alice Luckhardt. Read more about this inspiring story in Ancestry magazine, Jan-Feb 2004.

"On 21 February 1945, an American fighter plane crashed in the English countryside. Over the past five years, the little village of North Stifford in Essex had been no stranger to German, English, and American planes flying overhead. But this time a plane had fallen from the sky.Thirteen-year-old Ken Rydings was attending school when the screech of the plane caught his attention. The next moment he heard an immense explosion. Ken didn't know until later that day how close the plane had come to his neighborhood. It had crashed only 200 yards away from a primary school filled with young children.Ken's cousin, who was home on leave from the British Air Force, was one of the first people to reach the crash site. He quickly realized that the pilot, who had maneuvered the plane to ensure that it wouldn't crash into any buildings, did not survive. The young American pilot, who served with the 55th Fighter Group of the 8th Army Air Force, was Second Lieutenant Samuel E. Kershaw. Later military accident reports stated that metal fatigue had caused the left wing to break away and bring the plane down.Lt. Kershaw's body was sent back to Pennsylvania and he was buried at the American Legion Cemetery in Doylestown. The town had renamed a street in 1945 in honor of their fallen hometown boy. He had left behind a wife, Winnie Ward, but the couple had no children.A housing project at Chafford Hundred constructed a major entrance road and named it Kershaw Close in memory of the American pilot. On 3 September 1999, the sixtieth anniversary of Britain's entry into World War II, a ceremony was held and the road were dedicated to Lt. Kershaw's memory for his ultimate sacrifice. A plaque reads:"This close is named in memory of 2nd Lt. Samuel E. Kershaw who served with the 55th fighter group of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force and whose plane crashed on this site during World War II. Born the 6th of February 1922 Doylestown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Died 21st of February 1945 North Stifford Essex Remembered".
-Anonymous
Burial:
Doylestown Cemetery Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA

Placed to honor the men and women of Doylestown, Bucks County, PA who lost their lives during WWII

Barbara (Ennis) Connolly - Princessbarbi_B25@msn.com WWII Historical Researcher and (MY DAD) Edward C Ennis, 1914-2005 from Doylestown, PA. Barb-Lin Floor Coverings, Cross Keys, Doylestown, PA. I am the Historian for 319th and 321st Bomb Groups in the 57th Bomb Wing. T/Sgt Ed Ennis flew Combat as Airborne RADAR/ Radio/Aerial Gunner in the B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber /MTO N. Africa and Italy 1943-44. "Barbi" lives in Arizona.

Samuel E Kershaw