Baker, Johial William

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Johial William
Surname Baker
Gender M
Age 22
Decorations
Date of Death 04-07-1943
Next of Kin Son of William Howard Baker and Pern Beryl Baker (née Halladay), of Phillipsville, Ontario.
BAKER JW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington X
Serial Number HE630
Markings QO-B

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Brookwood Military Cemetery
Grave Reference 40. I. 7.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 126

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/17766
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 432 (Leaside)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

Miscellaneous Information

Johial was born on 31 March 1921 in Phillipsville, Ontario. His father was a farmer who was born in Burgess, Ontario. Johial had one brother, Glen Norman Baker. He attended Phillipsville Public School 1926-1933 where he took his High School Entrance, and Athens High 1933-1939 where he studied for his Graduation Diploma. He worked on his father’s farm between 1939-1940. Johial also spent six months in 1940 as a labourer at the Civilian Army Camp in Petawawa. His mother died before he enlisted and his father lived at RR No.1 , Smith’s Falls. Ontario.
Johial enlisted on 11 August 1941 and after training embarked from Canada on 28 October 1942 arriving in England at 3 PRC on 5 November 1942.. There then followed 18 (P) AFU, 22 OTU on 23 March 1943, 428 Sqn on 26 May 1943 and finally 432 Squadron on 26 June 1943. He lost his life just over a week later.
He enjoyed hockey, softball, and swimming.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/6
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/5

Fellow Servicemen

Holmes J (Sgt)
Lewis G E (F/S)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 03-07-1943
End Date 04-07-1943
Takeoff Station Skipton on Swale
Day/Night Raid Night (2% moon)
Operation Koln
Reason for Loss Ran out of fuel on the return to base and crashed into a house near Henhurst, Kent

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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.