Douglas was born during June 1922 in Elham, Kent to Charles and Emily Gosden. The family moved to Frampton Road in Hythe, from where Douglas attended the Harvey Grammar School in Folkestone Upon leaving school he was employed as a junior clerk.
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War Douglas volunteered for the Royal Air Force where, upon completing his basic training was selected for training as a bomb-aimer. Having linked up with others to form a crew, Douglas and his colleagues were posted to No. 10 Operational Training Unit at Abingdon to learn operational methods. Part of this included taking part on bombing operations.
Thus, on the night of 13th./14th. September 1942 10 OTU provided aircraft for a raid on targets at Bremen. The attack was successful as , according to the authorities in Bremen, damage was widespread and considerable.
Unfortunately, Whitley Mark V, BD275 was shot down. Sergeant Douglas Gosden was the only crew member killed. The remainder parachuted to safety, becoming prisoners of war.
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