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Bock, Earl William

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Earl William
Surname Bock
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 22-10-1944
Next of Kin Son of William Edward and Evelyn Mae Bock. Husband of Florence Mildred Bock, of Echo Bay, Ontario, Canada.
BOCK EW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster III
Serial Number LM689
Markings UM-C2

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Brookwood Military Cemetery
Grave Reference 55. G. 5.
Epitaph ALL LOST THINGS IN THE ANGELS' KEEPING NO PAST IS DEAD FOR US, ONLY SLEEPING

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 10

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/203369
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 1
Squadron 626
Squadron Motto To strive and not to yeild
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Main Entrance, Wickenby Airfield, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone, Metal Scupture, Info Board
Memorial Text This memorial commemorates the 1080 aircrew killed on operations with Nos (12B) and 626 squadrons whilst based at Royal Air Force Wickenby 1942-1945, the design and building of the memorial in 1981 was funded by subscription from members of the Wickenby R
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Miscellaneous Information

Before joining up Earl was a Jr. Chemist at Algoma Steel Corporation. He attended Sault Ste Marie Central School from 1930 – 1938 in Matric. From 1938-1941 he attended Sault Collegiate Institute in the commercial program then transferred to Sault Ste Marie Tech for the industry program. In 1937 Earl worked for Frank Wolloc as a clerk. He would have been in grade school at that time and he states his reason for leaving was for a better position. In 1941 he worked for Abitiby Power and Paper as a general labourer but got laid off in the same year. He started working for Algoma Steel in 1942 sometime (no date seemed to be provided) but he wanted to return to that position after the war. During his growing up Earl enjoyed football, skating and skiing as well as stamp collecting and he seemed to always want to fly!

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2145/24
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2145/23

Last Operation Information

Start Date 22-10-1944
End Date 22-10-1944
Takeoff Station Wickenby
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Mine laying- Silverthorn area
Reason for Loss Attacked by a night fighter on the return leg. The first attack was beaten off but cannon fire from the second killed the rear gunner instantly. The fighter was shaken off and the aircraft made a safe return to base with F/S Bock's body aboard.

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Since 1945 the brave men and women who gave their lives whilst in the service of Bomber Command, to protect our country have been largely ignored and forgotten by successive governments.

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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.