Fraser, John William Died

Back

Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) John William
Surname Fraser
Gender M
Age 19
Date of Death 02-10-1944
Next of Kin Son of John Gordon Fraser and Gladys Fraser (née Williams), of Grand Mere, Québec , Canada.
FRASER JW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V
Serial Number P5102
Markings ZV-H

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Kinloss Abbey Burial Ground
Grave Reference Grave 68. Row C.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 37
FRASER JW

Location

Row -
Panel 37
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 37

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/219037
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 91
Squadron 19 OTU
Trade Navigator
Country of Origin Canada

Miscellaneous Information

John was born at Grand Mere, Québec on 3 December 1924. His father was born in Montreal and worked as a Chief Clerk and his mother was born in London, England. He had a young brother, James, and three sisters Brenda Grace, Gladys Mary and Elizabeth Stephanie (the latter two both married). He attended Laurentine School 1930-1938 and again 1939-1942 (Scientific). The sports he enjoyed were hockey, basketball, badminton, golf and swimming. John worked as an apprentice at Shawinigan Falls for Canadian Industries Ltd, Chemists, from 1942 onwards and then enlisted on 9 February 1945.
After training he was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Halifax on 30 March 1944. He arrived at 3PRC (RCAF) on 8 April 1944, and was then at 9 (0) AFU 27 June 1944, and 19 OTU 25 July 1944. Sadly this nineteen year old was to lose his life on 2 October 1944 when the aircraft he was in crashed just two minutes after take-off.

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
Buchkowski T S (Sgt) Died
Henry R W G (F/S) Died
Huddleston T (Sgt) Died
Muir J F (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 02-10-1944
End Date 02-10-1944
Takeoff Station Forres
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Training
Reason for Aircraft Loss Engine is believed to have failed on take-off and the Whitley crashed into nearby trees
Start new losses database search Back
 
 
 
 

Please Wait

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.