Cyril Anekstein

Squadron Leader Cyril Anekstein, DFC was an English officer of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died during the Second World War.
He was born in 1916, at St Olave, the son of Polish-born minister-reader Simon, later of Holland Road Synagogue, and Dora Anekstein (née Gilbert), of London. Trained as a lawyer before the war, Anekstein enlisted in September 1939, as an aircraftman second class,Bowman, Martin (2011), Bomber Command: Reflections of War, p. 219. and obtained his commission in October 1940.The London Gazette (34996), p. 6636, 19 November 1940. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
Anekstein, a pilot with 7 Squadron, died on 31 August 1943, when his Avro Lancaster (serial JA936) was shot down over Monchengladbach on an operation to mark the city as a precursor to a bombing raid.Pathfinder Squadron RAF, 156squadron.com. Retrieved 15 September 2013. Two of the seven crew, Flight Lieutenant G.A. Atkinson and Sergeant J. Genney, survived and were taken prisoner. Anekstein had, in 1942, been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his conduct over occupied Europe. His citation, published in the London Gazette on 23 June, read:"This officer has participated in many raids on the enemy. He was pilot of an aircraft which took part in the mass raid on Cologne. During the run-up to the target, despite severe damage to his aircraft by anti-aircraft fire, he persisted on his course until the bombs had been dropped and then made a skillful return flight to base. During the mass raid on the Ruhr on 1st June, his bomber was damaged severely by an enemy fighter, but he manoeuvred his aircraft cleverly and enabled his gunner to fire at point blank range and destroy the attacking aircraft. He later made a normal landing at base although all landing wheel tyres were punctured and part of the covering of the aircraft wings was shot off. This officer is cool and skillful when in action and sets a high standard of devotion to duty."The London Gazette (35609), p. 2817, 23 June 1942. Retrieved 15 September 2013.He is buried in Rheinberg War Cemetery. A cross had been displayed, erroneously, on his grave until August 2013, when the Commonwealth War Graves Commission replaced the headstone with one reflecting his Jewish faith. His family, who had contacted the CWGC about the discrepancy, attended the rededication. Further to his commemoration, his name is perpetuated in the form of the "Cyril Anekstein Cup", contested by the Maccabi football league.Winograd, Zoe, The Jewish Chronicle: "Cross removed from Jewish pilot's Second World War grave", 30 August 2013, thejc.com. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
==Notes==
==References==
*Ancestry.co.uk.
*Anekstein, Cyril, cwgc.org. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
Category:1916 births
Category:1943 deaths
Category:British military personnel
Category:Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Category:British people of Jewish descent
Category:British people of Polish descent
Category:British people of Russian descent
Category:Buried in Germany
Category:Squadron Leaders