Johnson, William Harvey Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) William Harvey
Surname Johnson
Gender M
Age 19
Date of Death 16-03-1945
Next of Kin Son of George William Henry Johnson and Irene Christina Johnson (née Forrest), of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
JOHNSON WH 935

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number ND644
Markings HW-N Naughty Nan

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Durnbach War Cemetery
Grave Reference 8. A. 24.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 56
JOHNSON WH 935

Location

Row -
Panel 56
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 56

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/134935
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 1
Squadron 100
Squadron Motto Sarang tebuan jangan dijolok (Malay - Don't let anyone attack the hornet's nest)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location William Johnson Hill, Manitoba; 40km west of Tice Lake
Country Canada
Memorial Type Hill
Memorial Text
Location Off the A16, Holton le Clay, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Pillar & Information Boards
Memorial Text Do not attack the Hornets nest, 100 Squadron Royal Air Force Waltham Grimsby, December 1942 April 1945, Honour the brave
Location In front of the mess esplanade, Mailly-le-Camp, 10 - Aube Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Stone memorial sculpture, inscribed marble tablets and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text En souvenir des heros de la RAF. Qui ont participe au bombardment du camp de Mailly. Unites de la RAF engagees dans le raid sur Mailly-le-Camp, la nuit du 3 au 4 May 1944. N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617- 619-625-626-627-639
Translation "In memory of the RAF heroes who took part in the bombing of Mailly Camp. RAF units engaged in the raid on Mailly-le-Camp, the night of 3-4 May 1944. Squadrons that took part: N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-639"
Location Bawtry Hall, Bawtry, South Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of those who did not return 1939 - 1945

Miscellaneous Information

William was born on 10 June 1925 at Winnipeg. His father was born in England and worked as a Caretaker and his mother was born in the USA. He had sisters Joyce and Patricia. He attended Lord Roberts School 1927-1934, Gladstone School 1934-1935, Earl Grey school 1935-1938, Kelvin 1938-1941 and United College 1942-1943 (all in Winnipeg). His hobby was model aircraft and the sports he joined in were swimming, football baseball (all in moderation). William worked as a decorator for C. R. Piggot between 1940 and 1941.
William first enlisted in 1941 but when it was later discovered that he was only aged 16 he was sent home. He re-enlisted on 24 August 1943. After training he was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Halifax on 16 June 1944, arriving at 3 (RCAF )PRC on 25 June. He was then at 19 OTU on 21 August 1944, 71 Base 17 September 1944 and 100 Squadron on 17 February 1945. Sadly this young man was then to lose his life at the age of 19 years on 16 March 1945.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/798/6
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/798/6

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
Bedell L E (F/S) Died
Dauphinee G A O (F/O) Died
Jeffrey M R (F/S) Died
Vale W R (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 16-03-1945
End Date 17-03-1945
Takeoff Station Grimsby
Day/Night Raid Night (12% moon)
Operation Nürnberg
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed at Kraftshof, five miles from Nuremburg after being attacked by a pair of fighters
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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.