Edward Powell

Based in North Africa from May 1943 and from their base there they took part in Operation Ladbroke. A glider assault on Sicily to take the Ponte Grande bridge over the river Anapo south of Syracus and to hold it for the advance of the Eighth Army.
Operation Ladbroke.com:
The Story of Glider 29, A Tough Nut to Crack.
Glider CG-4A WACO serial No 277232.
Glider Pilot's Report. After a rather bumpy tow, glider released at 22:26 hrs at 2200 ft four miles off the coast. Landed on land approximately 300 yrds to right of the correct landing lane. The glider landed in a small tomato patch bordered by a 3 ft wall and 30 ft trees. It stalled onto the ground from considerable altidude causing left struts to buckle and right aileron to break from it's hinges. Eight troops went through their plywood seats. Indications are that it was an extremely safe landing and no-one was hurt. Stopped 20 feet from where it first contacted groud, or approx one half fuselage length.

Other reports mention that the glider had also hit power lines and that the bottem of the nose was gone.
On the manifest 16 men are listed including Pvt Powell 939 E.
Their inital objective was strongpoint Bilston, a defensive installation straddling the main road to Syracuse, it consisted of a Tobruck, an open topped concrete machine gun emplacement and 5 pill boxes (remains of these can still be seen at the side of the road).
Powell and Pvt Skidmore from glider 29 were killed in action around Bilston and Ponte Grande
Operation Ladbroke was a disaster with alot of the gliders not surviving the landing .
Out of 72 WACO gliders 1 landed in Malta, 7 in Africa, 44 in the sea and only 23 in Sicily, across a large area. Less than 200 men were safely landed, 605 were killed including 300 drowned. There had been gale force winds and it was a night mission for which they had not been trained for.
An order given after the mission was that "all ranks will be taught to swim"

Buried at Syracus War Cemetery.