Cory, Gordon Johnson Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Gordon Johnson
Surname Cory
Gender M
Age 20
Date of Death 12-03-1943
Next of Kin Son of Wilbur A. and Gladdis Grace Cory, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
CORY GJ

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington III
Serial Number BK348
Markings QB-J

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Uden War Cemetery
Grave Reference Coll. grave 4. C. 8-9.
Epitaph HE GAVE HIS LIFE THAT THOSE LESS WORTHY MIGHT LIVE

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 148
CORY GJ

Location

Row -
Panel 148
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 148

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/11240
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 424 (Tiger)
Squadron Motto Castigandos castigamus (We chastise those who deserve to be chastised)
Trade Navigator
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Ooisestraat, Echteld Province
Country the Netherlands
Memorial Type Metal sculpture, stencilled composite information board and inscribed stone tablet
Memorial Text Op 12 Maart 1943, zijn hier 5 Canadese bemanningsleden met hun vliegtuig neergestort en omgekomen
Translation "On March 12 1943, 5 Canadian crew members crashed here with their plane and died"
Location Parallelweg, Opheusden, Friesland Province
Country The Netherlands
Memorial Type Metal sculpture, stencilled composite information board and plaques
Memorial Text Vickers Wellington Mk III 424 (RCAF) Sqn, 12 Maart 1943, Voorstraat, Echteld
Translation "Vickers Wellington Mk III 424 (RCAF) Sqn, 12 March 1943, Voorstraat, Echteld "
Location Village Green, Skipton on Swale, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone, inscribed Metal Plaque & Maple Tree
Memorial Text A memorial to the Canadian personnel who served at RAF Skipton on Swale during WW2, including 424 Sqn RCAF
Location Allerton Park Castle, Allerton, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Memorial Garden dedicated to the 4272 personnel of 6 (RCAF) Gp based at Allerton Castle who gave the ultimate sacrifice during WWII to preserve our freedom
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Propeller Unit & Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text Dedicated to the men & women of 6 (RCAF) Gp Bomber Command and to the 9980 Canadians lost serving in Bomber Command.

Miscellaneous Information

Eye-witness report of Rev. Van Achterberg: dated Saturday, September 23, 1991 (originally given in Dutch and subsequently translated into English). “Almost 50 years ago, on the late Friday evening of 12 March 1943, the Allied Air Force growled over us, on the way back to England, after having dropped the bomb load on Germany. With a few people in hiding, we stood on the back landing of the old parsonage, staring at them when we suddenly saw a small flash of light grow larger. A German fighter who had taken off from Deelen airfield had hit one of the English bombers. The fire approached us. We thought our last moment was struck when the plane crashed with a thunder of violence on the road between church and boarding house. A burning wing fell on the sexton's house, which burned out completely. The verger Mrs. De Greef and her daughters barely escaped the flames. A few meters to the other side and the church would have gone up in flames. Had this bomber still had bombs onboard, the whole of the village of Echteld would have been destroyed. Respectfully, the then headmaster, Mr. Paul van Zorge, and I collected some human remains, which we found, into a box - I still remember a few cramped fingers - and quietly committed them to the earth”. The box containing the remains was buried at the cemetery next to the church in Echteld. After the war they were reinterred in a collective grave 4.C.8-9. at the British War Cemetery Uden. Parts of the plane are still in the ground under Voorstraat, Echteld and discussions are taking place locally about the possibility of excavating the aircraft which inevitably still contains human remains.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1834/6
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1834/6

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
Caldwell R G (P/O) Died
Larson A P (Sgt) Died
Parker L A (F/S) Died
Topping W F (F/S) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 12-03-1943
End Date 13-03-1943
Takeoff Station Topcliffe
Day/Night Raid Night (42% moon)
Operation Essen. 457 aircraft, 23 losses (5.0%). PFF marked using Oboe. Very accurate bombing over the Krupps factory. 500 homes also destroyed. German authorities also reported damage and deaths in neighbouring towns.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down over Eschleer by a night-fighter flown by Oblt. Manfred Meurer of 3./NJG 1 at 2225 hrs and an altitude of 4,400m. Crashed at Echteld, ENE of Tiel, Holland
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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.