Lemmon, Ralph Ernest Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Ralph Ernest
Surname Lemmon
Gender M
Age 19
Date of Death 07-07-1944
Next of Kin Son of Gersham Arthur Lemmon and Annie Louise Lemmon (née Bartlett), of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
LEMMON RE

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster
Serial Number LL907
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery
Grave Reference XXV. F. 1.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 62
LEMMON RE

Location

Row -
Panel 62
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 62

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/88864
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 1
Squadron 460 (Australian)
Squadron Motto Strike and return
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Adjacent to Clubhouse, Breighton Airfield, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Tablet
Memorial Text A memorial to those who served at Breighton during WW2, including 460 Sqn RAAF
Location Junction of Kirmond Rd (B1203) & Orford Rd, Binbrook, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Memorial
Memorial Text A memorial to 460 Sqn RAAF which operated from Breighton and Binbrook 1941-1945
Location Church of St. Mary & St. Gabriel, Binbrook, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window, RoH and Sqn Badge
Memorial Text Memorial to 460 Sqn RAAF which served at Binbrook between 1941 and 1945
Location Former ATC Signals Square, Brookenby Industrial Estate, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text Memorials to the aircrew and groundcrew of 460 Sqn RAAF who served at Brookenby, 1942-1943
Location Church of St. Michael & All Angels, Brookenby, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text Memorials to the aircrew and groundcrew of 460 Sqn RAAF who served at Brookenby, 1942-1943
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- 619-625-626-627-648
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)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-648"
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

Ralph was born on 5 March 1925 at Windsor, Ontario. His father was born in England and was a soldier in the Scottish Regt, overseas and his mother, from London, England died in 1938. He had 3 sisters, Vera Nellie, Phyllis Jean and Shirley Ann who had died aged 3 years in 1941. There were also brothers Harold Gresham (who was in the RCAF in St. Thomas, Ontario), Donald Albert, Robert William and also Gordon Harry who had died aged ten years in 1937. Their uncle Bert Lemmon was shown as next of kin. The schools he attended were Gordon McGregor, Windsor, 1932-1933, David Maxwell 1933-1938, Victoria Avenue school 1938-1938 (all in Windsor) and then Mayfair School, Sandwich East, Ontario 1938-1941. Between 1941-1942 Ralph had worked for Ford Motor Co. in the Mailing dept., and then as a Stockman during 1942 in Windsor, Ontario. Ralph played hockey, basketball and football, enjoyed photography and spent two years in the Boy Scouts. He then enlisted on 30 October 1942 at Windsor.
After training he was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Halifax on 26 August 1943 arriving at 3PRC on 2 September. He then continued to 12 OTU on 21 September 1943, 31 Base 3 December 1943, 11 Base 7 March 1944 and 460 Squadron on 11 April 1944. Sadly Ralph was to lose his life on 7 July 1944 from 460 Squadron.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1909/14
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1909/14

Last Operation Information

Start Date 07-07-1944
End Date 07-07-1944
Takeoff Station Binbrook
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Caen
Reason for Aircraft Loss Collided with 103 Sqn Lancaster LM124. Baled out over France along with at least one other crew member. It is not clear whether he died in the drop or as a PoW
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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.