Copeland, Ben Bales
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Ben Bales |
Surname | Copeland |
Gender | M |
Age | 21 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 01-10-1942 |
Next of Kin | Son of David Arthur and Winifred Victoria Copeland, of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax II |
Serial Number | W7710 |
Markings | LQ-R Ruhr Valley Express |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Runnymede Memorial |
Grave Reference | Panel 107. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 148 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/79564 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 405 (Vancouver) |
Trade | Flight Engineer |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Copeland Lake, Saskatchewan |
Country | Canada |
Memorial Type | Lake |
Memorial Text |
Location | Adjacent to Village Windmill, Mill Rd, Great Gransden, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone with inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | Remembering 405 (Vancouver) Sqn. PFF at Gransden Lodge 1942 - 1945 |
Location | St. Bartholomew's Church, Great Gransden, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stained Glass Window, RoH and inscribed metal plaque |
Memorial Text | Commemorating the 801 airmen of 405 Sqn. RCAF who gave their lives 1941 - 1945 |
Location | Pocklington Gliding Club, Pocklington Airfield, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Marble Pillar and inscribed metal plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of 102 (Ceylon) and 405 (Vancouver) Sqns. Pocklington Airfield |
Miscellaneous Information
Aircraft nickname: Ruhr Valley Express |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1787/34 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1787/33 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 01-10-1942 |
End Date | 02-10-1942 |
Takeoff Station | Topcliffe |
Day/Night Raid | Night (54% moon) |
Operation | Flensburg. 27 Halifax sorties, 12 lost (44.4%). Good bombing results but at a high cost to 4 Group |
Reason for Loss | Crashed at Liehaus, NNW of the target close to the German-Danish border. |