F/O Robert Richards (pilot) was part of a contingent of 59 Squadron crews who were posted to the Far East with their aircraft in late 1942/early 1943, due to the growing threat of Japanese invasion.

According to Ian Robinson, a navigator with one of the 19 crews who made their way to Sumatra, Richards was killed as the Japanese forces were advancing. He had volunteered to escort a Group Captain that had left his stamp collection behind... As beautiful as the stamps may have been, they certainly were not worth the life of Richards. The fate of the Group Captain is unknown at this stage...

Update May 2015: According to the memoirs of Sgt Hubert Birks, "Into The Hands Of Nippon, 2014" (published by his son David and grandson, Malcolm), who was a W/Op also posted to the Far East with another 59 Squadron crew, P/O Richards and Group Captain Whitingsdale had decided to return to their lodgings to retrieve their "kits". The Group Captain had a car but unfortunately they were ambushed. The Group Captain was found dead next to his vehicle but P/O Richards was nowhere to be found...