McCausland, James Waldo
Personal Information
Rank | F/S |
Forename(s) | James Waldo |
Surname | McCausland |
Gender | M |
Age | 23 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 29-01-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Daniel Irving McCausland and Laura Belle McCausland, of Marysville, New Brunswick, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Vickers Wellington IC |
Serial Number | W5705 |
Markings | ED-E E-Echo |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Cirencester Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Plot 6. N.C. Row R. Grave 14. |
Epitaph | PEACEFUL BE THY SLEEP DEAR WALDO IN LIFE I LOVED YOU DEARLY IN DEATH I DO THE SAME MOTHER |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 1 |
Panel Number | 70 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/126326 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 91 |
Squadron | 21 OTU |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Adjacent to Main Gate of UK Fire & Rescue Service College, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone & Inscribed Slate Plaque |
Memorial Text | The Fire Service College Moreton in Marsh England, Royal Air Force Moreton-in-Marsh 1941-1959. Long ago it was and yet who amongst us dare forget |
Miscellaneous Information
Sgt McCausland left his job as a teller with the Bank of Montreal in 1941, having started as a junior clerk in 1937. He enlisted in the Canadian army on 25 April 1941, and was discharged 5 months later, with the rank of Lance Corporal, in favour of service in the Royal Canadian Air Force. |
He trained in the following units: 3 ITS (Initial Training School) Victoriaville Quebec, No. 22 EFTS (ElementaryFlight Training School) based in Quebec City, 9 FSTS (Service Flying Training Schools) at Centralia, near Exeter, Ontario. After that he embarked a troopship for the 10 day sea voyage to Bournemouth, where he was registered as a new arrival at 3 PRC (Personnel Reception Centre) on 18 August 1942. |
The body of Sgt McCausland was only recovered on 2 February, carried up to the farm on a sheep hurdle and then taken to the Aston Down airfield mortuary. His funeral was held at 15h00 on 6 February 1943 at the Cirencester Cemetery, a long way from Tyne Valley Prince Edward Island, where he was born on 9 September 1919. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 29-01-1943 |
End Date | 30-01-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Moreton-in-Marsh |
Day/Night Raid | Night (43% moon) |
Operation | Nickel operation |
Reason for Loss | Hit by flak, damaging the starboard engine, while leaflet dropping over Nantes, the Wellington crashed on return near Stroud, Gloucestershire. Despite losing height steadily they made for home using cloud cover as protection in the hope that they would find a landing soon after they reached the English shoreline. After trying without success to raise the alarm at Ashton Down they made for Moreton Vallance. Dangerously low, the pilot gave the order to assume crash positions and the aircraft ploughed in, short of the runway, with the loss of all on board. |