Robert was born in Staffordshire in 1915 and in July 1938 he became engaged to Diana Marjorie Cockell¹ of Northwood, Middlesex.  In 1940 he was commissioned into the Administration & Special Duties branch of the RAF.

Based at RAF Manston in Kent, Robert was spending an off-duty evening on Saturday 8^th March 1941 at the Café de Paris, Coventry Street in central London. The club was advertised as a safe haven by the maître d', [Martin Poulson] who stipulated that the four solid storeys of masonry above were ample protection.

This tragically proved not to be the case when a 50K HE bomb fell down the ventilation shaft of the Rialto roof straight onto the dance floor. Eighty people were killed, including the maître d’ whose words had come back to haunt him. Had the bomb been dropped an hour later, the casualties would have been even higher.

Confusion caused by bombing related chaos in the West End that night delayed ambulances and rescue services reaching the basement area of the explosion for up to half an hour. Immediate aid came from doctors and nurses who were amongst the guests at the Café de Paris. Reportedly several looters made their way into the blacked-out ballroom area and took jewellery from the dead and injured.

Famously, one survivor was cheered by the crowd outside, when, being carried out on a stretcher, he shouted to them "At least I didn't have to pay for dinner!".

At the time of his death Robert was 26 years old and is buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey .

Son of Alfred Henry Redfern of Dorchester, Dorset and Alice Redfern.

1. There is no surviving evidence to show whether at the time of his death Robert was still engaged to Diana and if so, whether she accompanied him on that fateful night or not, and therefore a survivor.  Diana later married in 1946.

Robert also had a love of sailing and was a member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club. He is also commemorated on the war memorial in Salcombe, Devon overlooking the harbour.

[Additional information kindly provided by Major (ret’d) Andrew Collins, TD, Royal Thames Yacht Club].

A copy of this story is available to download here.

Revised: October 2025