Machum, Donald Blair Died

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Personal Information

Rank WO2
Forename(s) Donald Blair
Surname Machum
Gender M
Age 20
Decorations MiD
Date of Death 29-05-1944
Next of Kin Son of John Ralph and Laura Ada Thompson Machum, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His Brother Ian Also Died On Service.
MACHUM DB

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington X
Serial Number HE199
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Brookwood Military Cemetery
Grave Reference 49. E. 3.
Epitaph BORN IN HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA. OUR DEAR SONS ARE REUNITED. IAN, R.C.A.F. KILLED JANUARY 1943 AND BURIED IN HIS HOME TOWN

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 66
MACHUM DB

Location

Row -
Panel 66
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 66

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/153082
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 93
Squadron 82 OTU
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Holy Rood Church, Ossington, Nottinghamshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text A memorial to those personnel from RAF Ossington who worshipped at Ossington church, 1941 to 1946

Miscellaneous Information

Enlisted Nova Scotia 9 February 1942. Trained at No.5 ITS (graduated 15 August 1942), No.13 EFTS (graduated 20 November 1942) and No.1 SFTS (graduated 30 April 1943).
File MR153082 P.1d An enquiry was received from a relative of W.O. D.B. Machum R.153082 (Deceased) who was killed in an aircraft accident on 29th May, 1944 while he was acting as pilot of a Wellington aircraft that was shot down by a friendly fighter on returning to the United Kingdom from an operation in France. The query raised concerned the possibility of an award to this airman. Complete details were sought from various sources and after consideration of the whole case, it was thought by this section that W.O. Machum had, indeed, deserved some recognition, as it was brought out in the evidence of the Court of Inquiry held at R.A.F. Station, Ossington, 30th May 1944, that W.O. Machum held the aircraft steady to enable the crew to bale out. On presenting this case to Air Ministry, it was pointed out that W.O. Macham did not complete his training at the time he became a casualty, and it was felt that in following out the best traditions of the service at a period when his operational experience was no doubt limited, should merit some recognition. Air Ministry advised 25.4.45 that the Honours and Awards Committee have decided to award a Mention in Despatches to W.O. Machum, and same would appear in New Years Honours List, 1945.

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
Davey L F (WO1) Died
McGuigan W H (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-05-1944
End Date 29-05-1944
Takeoff Station Ossington
Day/Night Raid Night (41% moon)
Operation Nickel operation, Nantes
Reason for Aircraft Loss Supposedly hit by anti-aircraft fire as it crossed the Dorset coast near Gillingham but in fact was shot down by a Mosquito fighter according to the official accident report. Three of the crew managed to bail out before the Wellington crashed on Sweet's Farm, between Woodville and Stoor Row, 4 miles west of Shaftesbury. The accident record states that the pilot of the Wellington failed to identify himself in the correct manner. The fighter pilot stated that he had not been informed of the liklihood of Wellingtons being in the area and had he been so informed, he would probably have recognised them even though they did not respond correctly when challenged. No action was taken against the Mosquito pilot (P/O Webbe) due to the extenuating circumstances and the anguish that this incident had undoubtedly caused him.
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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.