Casey, John Joseph
Personal Information
Rank | F/O |
Forename(s) | John Joseph |
Surname | Casey |
Gender | M |
Age | 19 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 31-03-1945 |
Next of Kin | Son of John James Casey and Mary Margaret Casey (née Muldoon), of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster X |
Serial Number | KB859 |
Markings | SE-U |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Becklingen War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 14. C. 9. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 142 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/43953 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 431 (Iroquois) |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Race Control Building, Croft Auto Circuit, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Roadside Location, A167, Dalton on Tees, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial topped with metal statue |
Memorial Text | In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Adjacent to A19, Burn, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Memorial Stone |
Memorial Text | A memorial to all those who served on 431 Sqn RCAF at RCAF Burn, 1942-1943 |
Location | Village Green, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone with inscribed metal plaques & Maple Tree |
Memorial Text | In memory of all those who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2 including 431 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Old Control Tower, former airfield site, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of all those who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2 including 431 Sqn RCAF |
Miscellaneous Information
John was born on 8 April 1925 at Ottawa, Ontario. Both parents were born in Ontario, his father, who worked in the Public Works Department, was born in Huntley and his mother in Dunrobin. He was one of seven children, having four sisters, Rita, Maureen, Theresa and Joan and brothers Joseph Richard and Raymond Francis. R/54313 WO2 Raymond Casey had joined the RCAF as a pilot in August 1940 but was also sadly killed on the strength of 35 Squadron on 14 July 1942. He was a popular young Ottawa athlete. The schools John attended were St. George’s, Ottawa 1932-1939 and St Patrick’s College ,1939-1943, Ottawa. He spent two years in the School Cadets. His sport interests were hockey, football, baseball, and swimming and he enjoyed reading. During the summers of 1941 -1943 he had worked as an office boy in the department of Trade and Commerce. 1941, as a clerk in the Department of Labour in 1942 and lastly as a farm labourer in the Department of Agriculture, 1943. |
John enlisted on 20 September 1943 and after his initial training embarked from Halifax on 25 May 1944 headed for the U.K. He arrived at 3PRC on 3 June 1944 then went to 82 OTU 20 June 1944, 61 Base 6 September 1944, 1659 CU 9 September and 431 Squadron on 24 October 1944. Sadly, John was to lose his life on 31 March 1945. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1858/30 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1858/29 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 31-03-1945 |
End Date | 31-03-1945 |
Takeoff Station | Croft |
Day/Night Raid | Day |
Operation | Hamburg to attack the Blohm and Voss shipbuilding yards, where a new class of U-boats was being assembled. 469 aircraft, 11 lost due to a surprise appearance of the new Me 262 jet-propelled fighter. It was it's only appearance in fact. The target was completely cloud-covered so bombing was scattered throughout Hamburg with little damage to the intended target |
Reason for Loss | Crashed near Hittfeld, south of Harburg |