David Lord David Samuel Anthony Lord VC , DFC ( 18 October 1913 – 19 September 1944 ) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Early life . David Lord was born on 18 October 1913 in Cork , Ireland , the son of Samuel ( a Warrant Officer in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers ) and Mary Lord . After the First World War the family were posted to British India and Lord attended Lucknow Convent School . On his father ' s retirement from the Army the family moved to Wrexham and then David was a pupil at St Mary ' s College , Aberystwyth before attending the English Ecclesiastical College , Valladolid , Spain to study for the priesthood . Deciding the priesthood was not the career for him he returned to Wrexham before moving to London in the mid - 1930s as a freelance writer . He enlisted in the RAF in 1936 . Second World War . He underwent pilot training , becoming a Sergeant Pilot in 1939 with No . 31 Squadron RAF on the North West Frontier , flying the Vickers Valentia biplane . In 1941 No . 31 squadron was the first unit to receive the Douglas DC - 2 which was followed by both the Douglas DC - 3 and Dakota transports . He flew in the Middle East , ( being injured in a crash ) before being posted back to India . Commissioned in 1942 , he flew on supply missions over Burma . Lord was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross during 1943 and by January 1944 had returned to the UK for service with No . 271 Squadron ( based at RAF Down Ampney , Gloucestershire training to drop paratroops , supplies and to tow military glider s . He then took part in the D - Day operations in June 1944 . Battle of Arnhem . The Battle of Arnhem was part of Operation Market Garden , an attempt to secure a string of bridges through the Netherlands . At Arnhem the British 1st Airborne Division and Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade were tasked with securing bridges across the Lower Rhine , the final objectives of the operation . However , the airborne forces that dropped on 17 September were not aware that the 9th SS and 10th SS Panzer divisions were also near Arnhem for rest and refit . Their presence added a substantial number of Panzergrenadiers , tanks and Self - propelled gun s to the German defenses and the Allies suffered heavily in the ensuing battle . Only a small force managed to hold one end of the Arnhem road bridge before being overrun on the 21st . The rest of the division became trapped in a small pocket west of the bridge and had to be evacuated on the 25th . The Allies failed to cross the Rhine , which remained under German control until Allied offensives in March 1945 . Resupply flights . He was 30 years old , and a Flight Lieutenant in 271 Squadron , Royal Air Force during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross . On 19 September 1944 during the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands , the British 1st Airborne Division was in desperate need of supplies . Flight Lieutenant Lord , flying Dakota III KG374 through intense enemy anti - aircraft fire was twice hit and had one engine burning . He managed to drop his supplies , but at the end of the run found that there were two containers remaining . Although he knew that one of his wings might collapse at any moment he nevertheless made a second run to drop the last supplies , then ordered his crew to bail out . A few seconds later the Dakota crashed in flames with its pilot and six crew . Only the navigator , F / Lt Harold King survived , becoming a prisoner of war . It was only on his release in mid 1945 that the story of Lord ' s action was known , and David Lord was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross . David Lord is buried alongside his crew in Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery , near Arnhem . Victoria Cross . The full citation for Lord ' s VC appeared in a supplement to the " London Gazette " on 9 November 1945 , reading : Legacy . After Arnhem was liberated in April 1945 , Grave Registration Units of the British 2nd Army moved into the area and began to locate the Allied dead . Lord was buried alongside his crew in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery . There are many plaques in memory of him , including one at Wrexham Cathedral in Wales . Several aircraft have carried tributes to Lord . Between 1993 and 1998 , the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight ' s Dakota , serial ' ZA947 ' , was painted in the colours of Lord ' s aircraft during the Arnhem campaign , and bore the same code letters ; YS - DM . Between 1973 and 2005 , the Dakota displayed at RAF Museum Cosford was similarly painted and coded to represent Lord ' s aircraft . From 1966 until its disbandment in 2005 , No . 10 Squadron RAF was equipped with Vickers VC - 10 s , each of which was named after a Royal Air Force or Royal Flying Corps VC winner . Aircraft serial number ' XR810 ' was named " David Lord VC " . See also . Four other men were awarded the Victoria Cross at Arnhem : References . Listed in order of publication year External links . city