McGill, George Edward Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) George Edward
Surname McGill
Gender M
Age 23
Decorations MiD
Date of Death 31-03-1944
Next of Kin Son of George Wellington McGill and Rita McGill (née Strahmayer), of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Husband of Elizabeth Louise McGill (née Goodman), whom he married on 15 September 1940 in Toronto. Father of Peter Edward McGill, born in April 1941.
McGILL GE

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington II
Serial Number Z1142
Markings PM-

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Poland
Burial/Memorial Place Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery
Grave Reference 8. C. 7.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 71
McGILL GE

Location

Row -
Panel 71
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 71

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/5312
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 1
Squadron 103
Squadron Motto Noli me tangere (Touch me not)
Trade Navigator
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Rural location, Zagan, Lubusz Voivodeship
Country Poland
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stones
Memorial Text Names of the escapers. Blue text recaptured, black text executed, green text evaded
Location Lotników Alianckich 45, 68-100 Zagan Voivodeship
Country Poland
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Board & Framed Photos
Memorial Text Pamietamy bohaterom alianckich lotnikow officerom rozstrzelanych przez Gestapo
Translation "We remember the heroes of the Allied airmen and officers shot by the Gestapo Zagan, March 1955"
Location Rural location, Zagan, Lubusz Voivodeship
Country Poland
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stones
Memorial Text In memory of the Officers who gave their lives Sagan March 1944
Location All Saints Church, Elsham, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Tablet
Memorial Text Dedicated to all who served at RAF Elsham Wolds on 103 7 576 Squadrons 1941-45
Location Anglian Water Treatment Works, Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Pillar & Plaques
Memorial Text Pillar : RAF Elsham Wolds, 1941-1945, For those who made the great sacrifice. Plaque :This tree is dedicated to all those who served with 103 Squadron Royal Air Force. Plaque : RAF Elsham Wolds, Opened in Summer 1941 as a bomber station in No1 group, it was the home of No103 Squadron and from Elsham Wolds until 1945 Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster aircraft of No 103 and other squadrons flew on bombing missions against targets in Germany and occupied Europe.
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- 619-625-626-627-641
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)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-641"
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

Great Escaper- murdered by the Gestapo. Mentioned in Despatches June 1944.
George was born on 14 April 1918 at Toronto, Ontario. Both parents were born in Toronto and his father was retired. He had three sisters, Christine, Barbara and Elizabeth and a brother William who was a Sergeant in the RCAF. He went to St. Clare’s Separate School in Toronto 1925-1931, Oakwood Collegiate Institute 1931-1936 and the University of Toronto 1936-1938, where he studied chemical engineering. His interest in sports covered rugby, baseball, hockey, swimming and track events. George worked for William McGill & Company, coal merchants, as a traffic and order clerk 1938-1940.
George enlisted on 3 September 1940 and after completing his training embarked from Canada on 14 July 1941. He completed his training in the U.K. at 21 OTU and was then posted to 103 Squadron on 17 October 1941.

Casualty Pack Number Find Out More

AIR 81/11511 (P365325/42)

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/814/2
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/814/2

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
Druce G H D (F/O) Died
Good C A (Sgt) Died
Townsend F C (Sgt) Died
Rhodes C (WO) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 10-01-1942
End Date 11-01-1942
Takeoff Station Elsham Wolds
Day/Night Raid Night (42% moon)
Operation Wilhelmshaven
Reason for Aircraft Loss A flare ignited in the aircraft which immediately filled with smoke. The pilot ordered the crew to bale out. Four of them did but then the co-pilot managed to extinguish the fire and the aircraft made it safely back to Elsham where both pilot and co-pilot later received DFMs
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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.