Bull, Charles Gordon

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Personal Information

Rank S/L
Forename(s) Charles Gordon
Surname Bull
Gender M
Age 31
Decorations
Date of Death 18-07-1944
Next of Kin Son of Percy Frank Bull and Maude Margaret Bull (née Crask), of Nipigon, Ontario, Canada. Husband of Phyllis Kathleen Bull (née Smith). Father of Elizabeth Anne Bull (born 29 December 1941) and David Carleton Bull (born 1 July 1943).
BULL CG

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number MZ628
Markings SE-Y

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Cramoisy Communal Cemetery
Grave Reference
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 138

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/3486
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 431 (Iroquois)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

Miscellaneous Information

Charles was born at Nipigon, Ontario on 3 May 1913. Both parents were born in England. His father Rev. Percy Frank Bull died in 1940 and his mother was born in Loughborough. He had brothers Norman Frank and Walter David both of whom were in the RCAF overseas. The schools he attended were: Central Public 1923-1927 North Bay. Sudbury High 1927-1932. Normal School 1932-1933. He then went to Purdue Uni 1936-1939. B.S.M.E. in aeronautics. His interest in sports were rugby, basketball and softball. Charles worked for National Grocers as a warehouseman 1934-1936, Sudbury, at Foleyet & Norman as a school teacher 1933-34, at Burwash Ontario also as a teacher 1934-1936. He then attended University. In 1939 he then worked as an operator for Nickel Co. in 1939.
On 6 June 1940 Charles enlisted and after training was sent to the U.K. where he arrived at 3 PRC on 25 June 1943. He went on to 14(P) AFU 13 July 1943, 30 OTU 28 September 1943, 1666 CU 29 November 1943 and 431 Squadron 29 December 1943. Charles sadly lost his life on 18 July 1944

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1858/14
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1858/13

Fellow Servicemen

Abbott W (P/O)
Alp P L (P/O)
Blasko J A (P/O)
Heald R (F/O)
Lockett J E (P/O)
Mitchell F E (F/O)
Robin L (P/O)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 18-07-1944
End Date 18-07-1944
Takeoff Station Croft
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Vaires- to attack railway yards. 110 aircraft- no report is available on the bombing results. Two aircraft lost.
Reason for Loss Crashed SW of Cramoisy, west of Creil, France

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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.