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Crosswell, Percy Bruce Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Percy Bruce
Surname Crosswell
Gender M
Age 21
Decorations MiD
Date of Death 14-04-1945
Next of Kin Son of William Crosswell and Mary Crosswell (née Bruce) of Saskatchewan, Canada
CROSSWELL PB

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number LK802
Markings AL-F

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 279.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 151
CROSSWELL PB

Location

Row -
Panel 151
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 151

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/88362
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 429 (Bison)
Squadron Motto Fortunae nihil (Nothing to chance)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Crosswell River, Manitoba; A tributary of Churchill Rover
Country Canada
Memorial Type River
Memorial Text
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Location Peuterdijk, Herkingen, Zuid Holland Province
Country the Netherlands
Memorial Type Stencilled composite information board
Memorial Text Het is omstreeks twee uur in de nacht van 22 op 23 April 1944 als de inwoners van Herkingen worden opgeschrikt door een vliegtuig dat met gierende motoren over het dorp scheert. Met een enorme knal stort het viermotorige vliegtuig neer in de ondergelopen St. Elisabethpolder. De Handley Page Halifax bommenwerper (LK802) behoort tot het 429 Sqn van de RCAF en is op de terugweg van de missie naar Düsseldorf, wanneer hij wordt aangevallen door een Duitse nachtjager
Translation "It is about two o'clock in the night of 22/23 April 1944 when the people of Herkingen are alarmed by a plane that sheers over the village with howling engines. With an enormous bang the four-engine plane crashes in the inundated St. Elisabethpolder. The Handley Page Halifax bomber (LK802) belongs to the 429 (RCAF) Sqn and is on its way back from the mission to Düsseldorf, when it is attacked by a German nightfighter"
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Location Roman Rd, Leeming, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brass plaque set into a stone plinth into which is carved with the Canadian maple leaf and the Yorkshire rose.
Memorial Text This memorial is dedicated to those men and women who served at RAF Leeming during World War II, including those from the Royal Canadian Air Force Squadrons, whose members came from all parts of the Commonwealth from 1942 to 1945; 405 Vancouver, 408 Goose, 419 Moose, 427 Lion, 429 Bison. Also, to the many Civilians who supported them during their term of duty in North Yorkshire. We remember too the RAF Squadrons who preceded the Canadians from 1940 - 1942; 7 - 10 - 35 -77 - 102 - 219. To those who paid the supreme sacrifice, we will remember them. Dedicated June 19, 1993
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Location Opposite old Main Guardroom, RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Memorial & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In commemoration of those men and women of many nations who served at RAF Leeming during the second world war.
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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
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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.
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Miscellaneous Information

Percy was born on 21 January 1924 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. He also had a brother, Bruce Angus. His father William was born in England and his mother, Mary born in Scotland. His father became a CNR employee. Percy went to the King George Public School between 1930 and 1938 and then the Collegiate 1938 - 1940. He was a carman apprentice with CNR shops 1941-1942 and also had two years farm experience. He enjoyed playing all ball games including baseball, basketball and football.
Percy enlisted at Winnipeg on 16 September 1942 and after training embarked from Halifax on 26 August 1943, arriving in U.K. on 1 September 1943. He then went through 3 PRC, 22 OTU on 21 September 1943, 61 Base, 25 January 1944 and on to 429 Squadron on 14 March 1944. After the crash he evaded capture for a while and was given refuge by a Duth farmer. When German officials made an unexpected check he gave himself up to protect the farmer from harm and became a PoW but was shot while trying to escape from Stalag Luft IIIA Luchenwald on 13th April 1945 and died the next day. 3050454 F/S Geoffrey Johnson attempted to escape at the same time and was also shot dead.
Crosswell River, Manitoba was named in his honour in 1948. Mentioned in Despatches June 1946

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1853/8
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1853/8

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
Achtymichuk A (P/O) Died
Austin H I (F/S) Died
Fennessey J F (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 22-04-1944
End Date 23-04-1944
Takeoff Station Leeming
Day/Night Raid Night (0% moon)
Operation Düsseldorf. 596 aircraft, 29 losses (4.9%). 2150 tones of bombs were dropped, causing considerable damage, mainly to the northern districts. 56 large industrial premises were hit, of which 7 were destroyed. More than 2000 homes were destroyed, 883 people killed and 593 injured, although these figures were compiled before all the missing had been dug out.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Thought to have been hit by flak and crashed in a flooded area near Herkingen, 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.