Siemens, Archie Harry Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Archie Harry
Surname Siemens
Gender M
Age 22
Date of Death 22-06-1944
Next of Kin Son of John Henry Siemens and Anna Siemens (née Bergen), of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
SIEMENS AH

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number ME782
Markings LE-N

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Schoonselhof Cemetery
Grave Reference Coll. grave IVa. F. 8-10.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 97
SIEMENS AH

Location

Row -
Panel 97
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 97

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/92125
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 5
Squadron 630
Squadron Motto Nocturna mors (Death by night)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Lage Mierdesweg, Oud Turnhout, Antwerpen Province
Country Belgium
Memorial Type Inscribed memorial stone
Memorial Text
Translation "On the night of June 22 1944 630 Sqn Lancaster ME782 expolded in mid-air after being hit by a night-fighter on its way home to East Kirkby airfield"
Location Adjacent to former Main Guardroom, LAHC, East Kirkby, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone, Memorial Plaques & Metal Sculpture
Memorial Text In memory of those who gave their lives with 57 Sqn & 630 Sqns 1939 - 1945
Location The Chapel, Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Wooden RoH
Memorial Text In proud memory of the men of No 630 Sqn who lost their lives operating from RAF East Kirkby 1943 to 1945
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- 619-625-626-627-658
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)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-658"
Location Lincoln County Hospital Chapel, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text In memory of Officers, NCO's & Other Ranks of 5 (Bomber) Group RAF who gave their lives Sept 1939 - May 1945

Miscellaneous Information

Archie was born at Saskatoon on 14 June 1922. Both parents were born in Manitoba and his father was a Filling Station attendant. The schools he attended were Mayfair, Saskatoon 1928-1937 and Saskatoon Tech 1937-1939. The sports he enjoyed were hockey and baseball and his hobby was photography. Archie worked for Shortt & Dyck, Saskatoon Auto Paint shop (body repairing) during 1939. He also worked for Allis-Chalmers, Saskatoon as a Tractor and Implement shipper during 1939. He then went on to John East Iron Works as a shippers' counter salesman between 1939 and 1943, also in Saskatoon.
Archie then enlisted on 4 March 1943 and after training was posted to the U.K. He embarked from Halifax on 22 October 1943, arriving at 3 (RCAF) PRC on 31 October. He then went to 17 OTU on 16 November 1943, 51 Base 29 February 1944 and 630 Squadron on 6 June 1944. Very sadly Archie then lost his life just a couple of weeks later on 22 June 1944.
Many sources list him as Siemins but in fact his surname was Siemens. This came to light after the IBCC memorial walls were erected and therefore they bear his name incorrectly. CWGC have also corrected his headstone. His signature on his attestment papers clearly show his name as Siemens.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2152/16
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2152/16

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
Hart T G (P/O) Died
Harwood R G (F/S) Died
Jordan R M (Sgt) Died
Macnaughton-Smith M J (Sgt) Died
Scully J J (P/O) Died
Walton R J (P/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 21-06-1944
End Date 22-06-1944
Takeoff Station East Kirkby
Day/Night Raid Night (2% moon)
Operation Wesseling synthetic oil plant
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed NE of Turnhout, Belgium
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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.