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Campbell, Vincent Daniel

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Vincent Daniel
Surname Campbell
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 09-11-1944
Next of Kin son of Daniel George Campbell and Margaret Alegra Campbell (McMillan) of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
CAMPBELL VD

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number NG239
Markings CF-A

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Grave Reference 20. B. 9.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 17

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/95217
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 1
Squadron 625
Squadron Motto We avenge
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Roadside Location, Kelstern, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text A memorial to 625 Sqn, RAF Kelstern October 1943 to April 1945
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Location St. Faiths Church. Kelstern, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type RoH in wooden case
Memorial Text 625 Sqn Roll of Honour and Sqn badge
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Miscellaneous Information

From ORB: “Operations: 22 aircraft were detailed to attack the target – WANNE KICKEL. Weather conditions on the outward journey were very bad, with 10/10ths cloud all the way. When over the target area, cloud was still very bad even up to 20,000 ft. Owing to this fact accurate bombing by visual means was not possible, and all the aircraft bombed by H2S or Gee. One of our aircraft “H” was seen over the target area loosing height with its wheels down, and this aircraft was later reported missing from this Operation. Results of this attack could not be assessed. Altogether two of our aircraft failed to return from this Operation.”
Vincent was born in South Porcupine, Ontario on 1 February 1923. Both parents were born in Buckingham, Quebec. His father, deceased, had worked as a blacksmith. He had three sisters, Sarah Margaret, Tessie Miriam and Nancy Cathleen. The Schools Vincent attended were the Devonshire Public School, Ottawa, 1929-1936 (Entrance), and Ottawa Technical High School, 1936-1939 . He enjoyed playing hockey and softball. Vincent worked in deliveries at the Dominion Store in Ottawa for four months in 1939 but left when he lost his father. He then went back to delivering at C.P.R. for another eight months. Vincent was then a Tinsmith for Harry Haley in Ottawa 1940-1941 and finally, a diamond driller at Bellerre Mines in Quebec, also during 1941.
He enlisted on 12 March 1942 and after initial training embarked from Halifax on 25 March 1944 and arriving in the U.K. at 3PRC on 3 April 1944. He went on to 11 Base 10 July 1944, then 625 Squadron on 7 September 1944. Vincent sadly lost his life on 9 November 1944.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2143/28
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2143/27

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.

Brown E J (F/O)
Bruce A (F/O)
Guthrie L L (F/O)
Holton J (P/O)
Marler N G (P/O)
Wilmot E D (P/O)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 09-11-1944
End Date 09-11-1944
Takeoff Station Kelstern
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Wanne-Eickel
Reason for Loss Lost over Germany in very poor weather conditions.

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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.