Biography

Ruth Mary Parnaby's name appears on the 1945 Electoral Roll for Collingham on the Service List section, indicating that she was, or had recently been, serving in the armed forces.

Family background

Ruth Mary Parnaby was born on the 8th February 1923 in Knaresborough, the daughter of Thomas Benjamin Parnaby and his wife, Isabel Parnaby (nee Pringle). Between 1925 and 1934 Thomas and Isabel appear on the electoral rolls for West Yorkshire, living at 16a Regent Parade, Harrogate. In the 1933 electoral roll the address given is slightly changed to 16b Regent Parade, but by 1934 the family is back at 16a. By that time there have also been two additions to the register - the addition of Ruth Mary Parnaby and her brother, George R Parnaby. After 1934, we loose track of the family for a few years, and 1934 remains the last record we have of Thomas Benjamin Parnaby. We do not know what happened to him, but we have no record of his death at that time.

Our next records of Ruth Mary Parnaby and her mother, Isabel, are in the 1939 West Yorkshire electoral rolls. Isobel is listed twice, once at High Street, Collingham, marking the start of the Parnaby family with Collingham, and the second occurrence, on the National Registration roll, with Ruth, at 179 Belle Vue Road, Leeds. Isabel is described as a housekeeper, while Ruth is described as a laundry worker - towel sorter.

There were no electoral rolls produced during the war, so our next record is in 1945, when Isabel is on the Collingham electoral roll at High Street, Collingham, while Ruth Mary Parnaby is listed on the Service electoral roll, showing that she was serving, but was listed at 179, Main Street, Collingham.

Service record

The 1945 Service Electoral Roll shows that Ruth was serving, but gives no indication of her service. However, the name Ruth Mary Parnaby appears on the register of Airmen and Airwomen of the RAF held at The National Acrchive, so we think that Ruth Mary Parnaby served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force with the service number 488662. This service number indicates that she joined the WAAF in Gloucester after April 1943. This date would fit well with the change of conscription dates around that time, as Ruth would have been aged 20 in 1943.

At present we do not have further details of her service in the WAAF, but in 1945 Ruth married John Letch Corrigan, a flight engineer in the RAF, and it is possible that Ruth might have met John in the RAF, when he served with 102 Squadron, based at RAF Pocklington.

John had joined 102 Squadron in November 1943 and that month took part in two night bombing raids. The first on 18th November to Ludwigshaven and the second, the following night to raid Leverkusen. On this second raid, Halifax 'X' flown by F/Sgt R Wilding and containing John Corrigan as Flight Engineer was damaged by flak, and the navigator Sgt L. Cannock was wounded. After a number of days of bad weather, John Corrigan took part in a further two bombing raids in 1943; on the 22nd December to Frankfurt, and on the 29th December to Berlin. On John Corrigan's fifth bombing mission, on the 20th January 1944 to Berlin, his aircraft went missing. The aircraft was shot down by a night fighter and was abandoned by the crew near the German town of Neuruppin. All of the crew became prisoners of war. John Corrigan was sent to Stalag Luft 3 at Sagan and Belaria. Stalag Luft 3 is now famous as the location of "The Great Escape" which took place in March 1944 very soon after John Corrigan must have arrived at the camp. If Ruth Parnaby did know John at this time it must have been an incredibly worrying time for her.

After the war

After the war, Ruth's mother, Isabel, and brother, George, returned to Main Street, Collingham and Ruth and her new husband, John, also settled in Collingham, first at 1, Elmwood Terrace (1952-1954), then at 63 Brookside (1955 and 1956) before moving to 45, Brookside (1958 to 1961).

Ruth Mary Corrigan (nee Parnaby) died in 2000.

Biography last updated 18 January 2024 17:52:42.