McDowell, James
Personal Information
Rank | F/S |
Forename(s) | James |
Surname | McDowell |
Gender | M |
Age | 32 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 16-05-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of John and Agnes McDowell, of Glasgow. Husband of Dorothea Edna McDowell (née Craig), whom he married in 1932. They had two daughters, Darleen and Marilyn. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster III |
Serial Number | ED934 |
Markings | AJ-K K-King |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Netherlands |
Burial/Memorial Place | Harlingen General Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Plot E. Row 4. Grave 11. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 1 |
Panel Number | 70 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/101749 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 5 |
Squadron | 617 |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | St. John the Baptist Church, Bamford, Derbyshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Framed painting and Framed inscribed Scroll |
Memorial Text | A painting given to Bamford Church by 617 Sqn RAF |
Location | South Tower, Ladybower Dam, Derbyshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial & Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | Commemorating the raid on the Rhur Dams by 617 Sqn RAF in May 1943 |
Location | Adjacent to South Tower, Ladybower Dam, Derbyshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Information Board |
Memorial Text | An information board detailing the raid on the Rhur Dams by 617 Sqn RAF in May 1943 |
Location | St. Vincents Hall, Grantham, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial & Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | Commemorating the HQ of 5Gp Bomber Command 1937-1945 where the Rhur Dams raid by 617 Sqn RAF was controlled from |
Location | Thorpe Camp Museum, Tattershall Thorpe, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stone Memorial and inscribed Sqn Badges |
Memorial Text | In memory of all who served at RAF Woodhall Spa 1941 - 1945 |
Location | Jubilee Gardens, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stone Memorial and inscribed slate tablets |
Memorial Text | A memorial to the members of 617 Sqn RAF who gave their lives during WW2 |
Location | Jubilee Gardens, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Memorial |
Memorial Text | A memorial to the members of 617 Sqn RAF who have given their lives since 1945 |
Location | Eyebrook Reservoir, Caldecott, Rutland |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | Commemorating 617 Sqn RAF which practiced here before the Rhur Dams raid in May 1943 |
Miscellaneous Information
James was born in Glasgow on 13 August 1910. His father was killed in the First World War, so in 1924 his mother, grandmother and the five McDowell children emigrated to Canada, and took up residence in Port Arthur, Ontario. James worked first for the Coca Cola company in Port Arthur. He and his family then moved north of Port Arthur where he found work as a gold miner, ending up at the MacLeod Cockshutt mine in Geraldton between 1935 and 1941. Jimmy McDowell joined the RCAF in 1941. After training as an air gunner in Saskatchewan, he was sent to England. He crewed up with fellow Canadian Vernon Byers, before being posted to 467 Squadron in February 1943. The crew carried out three operations before transferring to 617 Squadron on 24 March. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 16-05-1943 |
End Date | 17-05-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Scampton |
Day/Night Raid | Night (90% moon) |
Operation | Operation Chastise |
Reason for Loss | Heading for the Sorpe dam, the aircraft was hit by flak from batteries on Texel while flying at 300 feet outbound |