[Icare9]

If I remember correctly, bomber pilots had a different parachute to the rest of the crew, they actually sat on theirs, strapped to them, as with the crew being ordered to bale out they would then clip on their parachutes and bale out while the pilot held the aircraft steady (if possible!) He woould then only have a short time to get from his seat to the escape hatch, so it made sense for him to always have his parachute with him. he wasn't likely to spend much time away from the cockpit, whereas the others had a chance to move around and a bulky parachute would get in everyones way.
That said, someone must have been certain of the facts that for some reason in this case, the pilot didn't have his chute attached, or a misunderstanding that the pilot didn't (have a chance to) use his 'chute.
The sad fact is that they were only 100 metres from shore but didn't know it. Had they known which direction to head, the rest of the crew might have survived.

I can't answer specifically about the rank, but errors can easily be made. It is possible (but not likely) that he was in line for a promotion which came through later. A Flight Sergeant could have been appointed as "Acting" or "Temporary" to a rank higher, again confirmation only coming through after he had been lost.