Abbott, William Geoffrey

Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) William Geoffrey
Surname Abbott
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 23-05-1943
Next of Kin Son of William Geoffrey Abbott (born in London, England) and Emily Atkinson Abbott (born in Manchester, England), of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
ABBOTT WG

Aircraft Information

Aircraft
Serial Number
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Bournemouth North Cemetery
Grave Reference Row C.4. Grave 94.
Epitaph UNTIL THE DAY BREAK AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 121

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/100271
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 408 (Goose)
Squadron Motto For freedom
Trade
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Abbott Lake, Manitoba; 5km east of Whiskey Jack Lake
Country Canada
Memorial Type Lake
Memorial Text
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Location Village Centre, Linton on Ouse, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Memorial and inscribed slate tablet
Memorial Text In memory of 408 (Goose) and 426 (Thunderbird) Squadrons of R.C.A.F
View On Google Maps View On what3words

Miscellaneous Information

William was born on the 30th July 1921 in Hartford County. His father worked as a mechanical engineer. William worked for T Eaton Co. Ltd as a painter May - June 1939, as a warehouse clerk from August 1939 to July 1940 and then as a plumber/pipe fitter with the Cotter Bros. Company in Winnipeg from July 1940 to February 1941.
William enlisted on the 2nd April 1941 in Winnipeg, his occupation shown as a paper fitter. After early training he embarked on the 4th February 1943 and arrived in the U.K. at the reception centre in Bournemouth on the 17th of February.
He enjoyed playing football, hockey, soccer and swimming and his hobby was drawing.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Last Operation Information

Start Date -
End Date -
Reason for Loss Killed during enemy bombing of the Metropole Hotel, Bournemouth
 
 
 
 

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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.