Darby, Charles Edmond

Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) Charles Edmond
Surname Darby
Gender M
Age 35
Decorations DFM
Date of Death 28-08-1944
Next of Kin Son of Edmund Fielde Darby and Annie Eliza Darby (née Matthew), of Essex County, Ontario.
DARBY CE

Aircraft Information

Aircraft de Havilland Mosquito XX
Serial Number KB212
Markings 6T-F

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Rheinberg War Cemetery
Grave Reference 9. C. 25.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 152

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/15601
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 8
Squadron 608 (North Riding)
Trade Navigator
Country of Origin Canada

Miscellaneous Information

Charles was born on 12 March 1909 in Essex County, Ontario. His father was born in Craighurst, Ontario and worked as a Druggist, and his mother was also born in Ontario. He had a brother John W. and a sister Mary. Charles attended Harrow Public School 1916-1923 followed by Harrow Continuation 1923-1927 and Kingsville High 1927-1928. He then went to the University of Toronto and Ontario College of Pharmacy 1931-1933. His sport interests were tennis, golf and swimming and his hobbies were photography and building radios. Charles was working as a pharmacist for his father E.F Darby, in Harrow 1933-1936, for L.K. Legette in London as pharmacist and Assistant manager 1936-1937 and he was then manager for E. F. Darby again in a branch store 1937-1940.
He enlisted on 20 July 1940 and embarked from Canada on 1 June 1941, arriving at 3 PRC 4 June 1941. He then went to 19 OTU 6 June 1941, 77 Sqn on 1 September 1941 and 10 Sqn on 18 April 1942. He returned to Canada for special leave after this, returning via 3 (RCAF PRC) on 10 May 1944, then 61 Base on 25 May 1944, 1655 MTU on 17 July 1944 and 608 Squadron on 16 August 1944. He lost his life less than two weeks later.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The National Archives

Last Operation Information

Start Date 27-08-1944
End Date 28-08-1944
Takeoff Station Downham Market
Day/Night Raid Night (61% moon)
Operation Mannheim. One of 30 Mosquitoes
Reason for Loss
 
 
 
 

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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.