Cameron, Donald John Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Donald John
Surname Cameron
Gender M
Age 35
Date of Death 28-08-1943
Next of Kin Son of Donald Norman Cameron and Emily Jean Cameron, of London, Ontario.
CAMERON DJ

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number HR869
Markings MH-Z

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Durnbach War Cemetery
Grave Reference Coll. grave 1. J. 12-18.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 140
CAMERON DJ

Location

Row -
Panel 140
Column -
Line -

Directions From the Chadwick Centre, take the central path towards The Spire.

Phase 2
Panel Number 140

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/18517
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 51
Squadron Motto Swift and sure
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Monument, Bench & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In memory of the airmen of R.A.F. 51 Sqn. (687) and 150 Sqn. (205) between 1941 - 1945
Location Village Hall, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque on external wall
Memorial Text 51 Sqn RAF Snaith Oct 1942 - Apr 1945
Location St. John the Baptist Church, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Sqn Crest & Roll of Honour
Memorial Text 51 Sqn Roll of Honour
Location RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Monument, Multiple Inscribed Metal Plaques, Propeller Unit
Memorial Text In memory of the 687 airmen of 51 Sqn, 4 Gp, Bomber Command who lost their lives flying Halifax bombers Mks 2 and 3 at RAF Snaith between October 1942 and April 1945
Location Stn Church, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Roll of Honour in Wooden Case
Memorial Text Roll of Honour of 51 Sqn
Location Grounds of Selby Abbey, Selby, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone
Memorial Text 51 Sqn RAF. In proud and undying memory of all ranks killed or missing 1939 - 1945
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

Donald was born on 27 August 1908 in London, Ontario. His father was born in Strathroy, Ontario, and his mother in London, Ontario. His father worked as a Senior Clerk in the Post Office. He had one sister, Ella Effie, and three brothers, Norman Earl, Kenneth Alexander, and Philip William. They lived in Tecumseh Avenue. Donald went to the Wortley Road school 1914- 1922 (General), South Collegiate 1922-1925 (Matric) and H.B.Beal, Technical and Commercial High 1925-1926 (Business). All in London, Ontario. He spent one night a week, for a year 1929-1930, with the Canadian Fusiliers, as a Signaller. His sporting interests were boxing, golf and tennis, plus any seasonal sports, and music was his hobby. Donald worked for Canadian National Railways as a clerk 1926-1929 in London, Ontario. and then at the Bank of Montreal, also as a clerk , 1929-1941 until enlistment.
He enlisted on 24 May 1941 and embarked for the U.K. on 30 April 1942 arriving at 3 PRC on 13 May 1942, 7 AGS 27 July 1942, 1653 CU 27 September 1942, 515 Sqn. 10 November 1942, 1652 CU 31 March 1943 and 51 Squadron on 7 May 1943.
His last operation was his 28th.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/492/34
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/492/34

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
Carrington C G (F/S) Died
Dobson T R (F/L) Died
Kemp D W (Sgt) Died
Maughan H F (P/O) Died
McGregor A A (P/O) Died
Merricks L F (P/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 27-08-1943
End Date 28-08-1943
Takeoff Station Snaith
Day/Night Raid Night (7% moon)
Operation Nürnberg. 674 aircraft, 33 losses (4.9%). H2S marking was used and, given the difficulties experiences with Oboe equipment in recent raids, the crews were ordered to drop a 1000lb bomb on Heilbronn using the equipment to check its functionality. Nürnberg was clear and PFF marking was accurate but significant creepback set in and PFF were unable to correct it because, once again, they had difficulties with their H2S sets. Many of the bombs fell in open countryside SSW of the city. 65 people were killed on the ground.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed at Hellmitzheim, Germany
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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.