Campain, Gordon Died

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Gordon
Surname Campain
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 13-01-1943
Next of Kin Only son of Jesse Richard and Emma Campain, of 170, Hearsall Lane, Coventry.
CAMPAIN G

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington III
Serial Number X3338
Markings JP-P

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Westwood (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard
Grave Reference South part. Grave 270.
Epitaph AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER HIM

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 17
CAMPAIN G

Location

Row -
Panel 17
Column -
Line -

Directions From the Chadwick Centre, take the central path towards The Spire.

Phase 1
Panel Number 17

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1235252
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 92
Squadron 12 OTU
Trade WOp/AG
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Miscellaneous Information

Born 26 April 1921 at Ruskington, Lincolnshire. Resided at 13, Wildcroft Road, Coventry. Attended Centaur Road School. Worked as a hairdresser before enlisting (assisted his father). He had been in a serious accident three weeks earlier and had just been declared fit on 20 December 1942. (Wellington III Z1617 T/O 0523 for practice bombing. Returned to base but whilst approaching the runway, stalled and crashed at 0623. The Court of inquiry found fatigue was the most likely cause, having discovered that it was his second sortie of the night).

Fellow Servicemen

Please note that this list gives all the losses aboard the quoted aircraft and occasionally these may have occurred on an earlier date when the aircraft was not itself lost. Please check the dates of death carefully.

Name Outcome
Foreman D M (S/L) Died
Jepp D W C (P/O) Died
Nott W H J (Sgt) Died
Sober B (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 13-01-1943
End Date 13-01-1943
Takeoff Station Chipping Warden
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Training- bombing exercise
Reason for Aircraft Loss T/O 1735 Chipping Warden at 1830. While flying at 900 feet the port engine failed and five minutes later the starboard motor cut. Immediately the aircraft span out of control and crashed near Kettering, killing five of the six on board.
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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.