In Memory Of

STARFIELD, SYBIL FLORENCE

Service Details
Age:
 31
Date of Birth:
 -0001-11-30
Rank:
 Civilian
Regiment:
 Civilian War Dead
Former Regiment:
 formerly Captain W.A.A.F. (on leave at time of just obtained discharge)
Date of Death:
 1944-07-02
Cause of Death:
 Torpedoed and sunk by U-547 on passage Durban for U.K. Three crew and six passengers were lost.
Commemoration
Cemetery:
 S.S. "BODEGRAVEN"
Country:
 Lost at Sea
Additional Information
Daughter of Solomon Max and Louise Stafield, of 36 Empire Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa. Miss Sybil Starfield was one of the founder members of the SAWAAF in 1938 - one of the original six, in actual fact. She was a qualified pilot and for some years a leading figure in women's aviation circles within South Africa. She played a prominent part in recruiting campaigns for the unit, travelling to all the principal centres of the country. Most tragically, in September 1944 the news was cabled that Captain Starfield was missing at sea presumed drowned, as a result of a torpedo action against her ship whilst she was en route to England. She had sailed from South Africa in June 1944, having been seconded to the ATAS. ***Jewish