BEATTY AM
Beatty, Alvin Marshall Died
Personal Information
| Rank | F/O |
| Forename(s) | Alvin Marshall |
| Surname | Beatty |
| Gender | M |
| Age | 33 |
| Date of Death | 23-05-1944 |
| Next of Kin | Son of William Marshall Beatty and Clara Isabella Beatty (née Thomson), of Manitou, Manitoba, Canada. Husband of Winifred Kate Beatty (née Reed), whom he married on 22 November 1939 at Tisdale. |
Aircraft Information
| Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax V |
| Serial Number | LL138 |
| Markings | KN-N |
Memorial Information
| Burial/Memorial Country | France |
| Burial/Memorial Place | Seris Communal Cemetery |
| Grave Reference | Mil. Plot. Grave 4. |
IBCC Memorial Information
| Phase | 2 |
| Panel Number | 129 |
Enlistment Information
| Service Number | J/25737 |
| Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Group | 4 |
| Squadron | 77 |
| Squadron Motto | Esse potius quam videri (To be, rather than to seem) |
| Trade | Air Bomber |
| Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
| Location | Beatty Lake, Saskatchewan |
| Country | Canada |
| Memorial Type | Lake |
| Memorial Text |
| Location | Holy Trinity Church, Elvington, North Yorkshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Stained Glass Window & Roll of Honour |
| Memorial Text | Memorial windows and Roll of Honour for 77 Sqn. R.A.F. |
| Location | Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington North Yorkshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Marble Column with Metal Sculpture and Plaques |
| Memorial Text | Memorial to 77 Sqn. R.A.F. City of Lancaster's own |
| Location | Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Memorial Gardens, Propeller, Inscribed Marble Tablets |
| Memorial Text | In everlasting homage to the courage of those who have found their winged victory through the skies of Yorkshire |
| Location | Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Propeller Unit & Inscribed Marble Tablets |
| Memorial Text | They made the supreme sacrifice so that you & I may go in peace with freedom. 4 Group 1939 - 1945. |
| Location | Heslington Hall, York, North Yorkshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
| Memorial Text | Heslington Hall 1941 - 1945, 4 Gp Headquarters Bomber Command. In remembrance of those Air & Ground personnel who made the supreme sacrifice that we all may walk in peace with freedom |
Miscellaneous Information
| Alvin was born on 9 December 1910 at Manitou, Manitoba. His father, who died in 1932, was born at Kincardine, Ontario, and was a grain buyer, and his mother was born at Kaleida, Manitoba. He had a brother Russell who carried out general duties in the RCAF and three younger sisters, Kathleen , Muriel and Margaret. The schools he attended were Manitou Altamonte, Manitoba 1917 - 1925, (grade 8); Tisdale High school, Saskatchewan, 1925-1928 (Academic) and L.L. School of Electricity studying Electrical theory in 1928. He also attended the WETP school pre enlistment course at Regina in 1942. He occasionally played tennis, golf and sometimes trap shooting and his hobbies were movies , music and ping pong. He also liked to tinker with radios. Between 1928-1931 Alvin worked on his father’s homestead and then worked as a tractor operator on various farms between 1931 and 1935. He then became a junior operator for the Saskatchewan Power Commission at Tisdale, between 1935-1942. |
| He enlisted on 25 June 1942 and after training was posted to the U.K., departing from Canada on 16 July 1943. He arrived at 3PRC on 23 July 1943 and 5 AOS on 14 August, 19 OTU 5 October 1943, 41 Base 14 March 1944 and 77 Squadron 16 May 1944. Just one week later on 23 May 1944, Alvin sadly lost his life. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
| Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/657/10 |
| Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/657/10 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Hale C T (Sgt) | Died |
| James R G (Sgt) | Died |
| Peggs R J (P/O) | Died |
| Rose R A (Sgt) | Died |
Last Operation Information
| Start Date | 22-05-1944 |
| End Date | 23-05-1944 |
| Takeoff Station | Full Sutton |
| Day/Night Raid | Night (1% moon) |
| Operation | Orléans- to bomb railway installations. 128 aircraft, 1 Halifax Lost Most of the bombs fell on the passenger station and the repair workshops |
| Reason for Aircraft Loss | LL138 was attacked by a night fighter ten minutes after they released their bombs on the rail yards, the flying controls were damaged and Halifax went into an uncontrollable dive. Three of the crew managed to bail out: Pilot WO Geoffrey Haworth, Navigator Sgt Charles Hale and Rear Gunner Sgt John Taylor. Pilot Geoffrey Haworth was severely injured with a fractured spine and was sheltered for several hours by French villagers who reluctantly handed him over to German troops realising he needed further medical treatment. He and Sgt Taylor became POW’s. Geoffrey reported that Navigator Charles Hale had suffered wounds and was captured in the vicinity of the crash at Seris. The post war MRES report revealed his fate. On 23 May 1944 at 4pm the Daughter of Mr Stours, an Amercian citizen and well known sculptor and his wife a French artist, received news from the local Gendarmerie that a wounded Allied airmen needed medical assistance near Seris. She was a nurse and had done much good work for the Allies. She rode her bicycle to the location and found Sgt Charles Hale severely wounded in the leg and thigh from the night fighter attack. He had been alone in a remote place since 6am. She stayed with him and tended to him until Germans arrived with a stretcher party. Clearly known to the man in charge he remarked to her ‘You again. You will be shot for interfering’. She courageously replied ‘I dine at 9pm and it is now a quarter to, so if you want to shoot me you had better do it now’. She was released. Charles was taken to a hospital in the direction of Tours. Tragically whilst being transported from Tours the following month, as a PoW with other Allied men, the German vehicle broke down and Charles and New Zealander S/Ldr John Greville Clouston - a Spitfire Pilot - were killed by an Allied air attack. They were returned to Tours and buried nearby. |