Sergeant 1116016, 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, Army Air Corp. Died 14/07/1943. Age 23.

 

Born 1st August 1919 in Oostend, Belgium, the eldest of three sons of Michel Padureano and Maude Victoria nee Winks. Michel a Romanian born musician toured Europe with his Padureano Jazz Band, playing to royalty and aristocracy from Madrid to Paris. Victor & his brother Jean Michel b. 1920 lived with their grandparents at 55 Langer Road, Felixstowe from 1933. The youngest son Richard b. 1930 remained with his mother & they escaped Spain on the eve of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. 

 

As Victor & Jean Michel were foreign nationals they had to obtain parental permission to join the British Military. Victor initially enlisted in the Royal Artillery before volunteering for airborne forces in 1942. He qualified as a military parachutist 22nd August 1942 and was posted to the 1st Battalion. On 15th November 1942 the 1st Battalion were parachuted into Beja, Tunisia to capture a vital road junction 90 miles west of Tunis as part of Operation Torch. Sergeant Padureano was awarded the Military Medal for "Conspicuous gallantry & leadership" for his actions on 28th March 1943. On the 13th July 1943 he was parachuted into Sicily on Operation Fustian to capture Primosole Bridge, he was killed in action the following day. Buried at Catania War Cemetery, Sicily.