Caston, Thomas Walker
Personal Information
Rank | P/O |
Forename(s) | Thomas Walker |
Surname | Caston |
Gender | M |
Age | 20 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 28-02-1942 |
Next of Kin | Son of John Everett Caston and Edna Ella Caston (née Walker), of Macklin, Saskatchewan, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle I |
Serial Number | P1368 |
Markings |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Brookwood Military Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 36. G. 3. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 142 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/15105 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 2 |
Squadron | 110 (Hyderabad) |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Caston Lake, Saskatchewan |
Country | Canada |
Memorial Type | Lake |
Memorial Text |
Location | Adjacent to Northern Perimeter of Airfield, Wattisham, Suffolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stone Memorial with Inscribed Stone Tablets |
Memorial Text | This memorial is dedicated to RAF Wattisham, AAF Station 377 and AAF Station 470 from 1939 - 1945 |
Miscellaneous Information
P/O Fisher was ironically known as 'Lucky' after surviving five near-fatal accidents in thirty operations, one of which saw the aircraft ditch in the Irish Sea. It is said that he even started signing letters home that way. Tragically, his luck ran out in the end. |
His loss was written up extensively in the Toronto Star of 2 March 1942. |
Thomas was born at Macklin, Saskatchewan, on 27 February 1921. His father, retired, was born at Craighurst, Ontario and his mother was born at Owen Sound, Ontario. He attended school at Macklin between 1927-1939. He had two brothers: Douglas and Robert and a sister Mary Elizabeth. Her twin sister had sadly died. Thomas enjoyed most sports including hockey, boxing, baseball and basketball, and his hobby was wireless telegraphy. He worked for C Walker-Macklin of the Macklin Times as a printer from 1939 until enlisting on 18 July 1940. After training he was posted to the U.K. and left Canada on 17 April 1941. He was at 13 OTU on 22 April 1941 and 110 Squadron on 23 July 1941. Thomas lost his life on 28 February 1942, just one day after his 21st birthday. He had completed 591 days' service, which included 341 which were spent overseas. |
Casualty Pack Number Find Out More
AIR 81/12455 (P366541/42) |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/858/24 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/858/23 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 28-02-1942 |
End Date | 28-02-1942 |
Takeoff Station | Boscombe Down |
Day/Night Raid | Day |
Operation | Training- 'Intensive Flying' |
Reason for Loss | Failure of the starboard engine led to the feathering of the propeller on that side. The aircraft was by then on the brink of a stall but a flat turn to the right was attempted. The starboard wing dropped and the aircraft spun-in from 500ft at Shalborne, Wilts, near Hungerford. |