Barnett, George Howell

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) George Howell
Surname Barnett
Gender M
Age 28
Date of Death 30-12-1944
Next of Kin Son of George William Barnett and Florence Annie Barnett (née Dear), of Montreal.
BARNETT GH

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax VII
Serial Number NP812
Markings QO-T

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Jemeppe-Sur-Sambre Communal Cemetery
Grave Reference North-east part.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 127

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/90983
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 432 (Leaside)
Squadron Motto Saeviter ad lucem (Ferociously towards the light)
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin Canada

Miscellaneous Information

George was born at Montreal on 13 February 1916. He had one sister, Phyllis Beatrice and his parents married in England. (There is a mention in his records that George was born Springfield Park, Chambly County, Quebec). The schools he attended were: St. Lambert High 1920-1930; Montreal Technical School 1933-1934 (Electrical Engineering); Modern Business College, 1935-1936 (Accountancy). His sport interests were many including tennis, softball, swimming and skiing. George worked as a labourer for Smith & Nephew 1929-1930, Thompson Electrical as an apprentice electrician 1933-1934 and for Darling Brothers as a Storekeeper/clerk 1935-1939.
He enlisted on 12 September 1939. After basic training George embarked from Canada for the U.K. on 26 August 1943. He arrived at 3PRC on 2 September 1943 then went on to 6 (0) AFU 5 October 1943, 24 OTU 16 November 1943, 61 Base 9 August 1944, and 432 Squadron 18 September 1944. It was from here that George was to lose his life on 30 December 1944.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/40
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/39

Last Operation Information

Start Date 29-12-1944
End Date 30-12-1944
Day/Night Raid Night (100% moon)
Operation Bonn
Reason for Loss Hit by flak on return leg. The port wing fuel tanks were holed, port outer and starboard outer engines were u/s. F/O E. Hancox RCAF, the navigator and P/O G. Barnett RCAF, the bomb aimer were also injured. P/O G.Barnett RCAF, the bomb aimer, misinterpreted the pilot's instructions and bailed out over France but did not survive. The pilot, F/O Baxter, landed the aircraft safely at RAF Woodbridge without further injury.

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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.