Durkin, James Patrick Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) James Patrick
Surname Durkin
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 05-11-1944
Next of Kin Son of Patrick Durkin and Catherine Durkin (née Gainley), of Humber Bay, Ontario, Canada.
DURKIN JP

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number MZ896
Markings QB-Q

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 250.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 158
DURKIN JP

Location

Row -
Panel 158
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 158

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/88078
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 424 (Tiger)
Squadron Motto Castigandos castigamus (We chastise those who deserve to be chastised)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

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

James was born at Humber Bay, Ontario on 22 March 1923. Both parents were born in England, his father in Darwen who was a stockkeeper and his mother in Burnley both in Lancashire. He had two brothers, John and William and a sister Kathleen. His schooling was at St. Lee’s Separate School Mimico 1929-1935 (general), De La Salle Toronto 1935-1937 (Matric ), St. Michael’s College 1937-1938 (Matric), Mimico High School 1938-1939 and Runnymede Collegiate night School 1939-1940. His sport interests were hockey, baseball, and swimming. James worked as a machine operator at the Steel Co, of Canada between 1939-1942 when he enlisted on 15 October 1942.
He embarked for the U.K. on 13 September 1943 and arrived at 3PRC on 20 September before continuing to 24 OTU 28 September 1943, 1664 CU 14 December 1943, 61 Base 17 January 1944 and 424 Squadron on 26 January 1944. Sadly, James lost his life from 424 Squadron on 5 November 1944.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1835/20
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1835/20

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
Chapman A D (F/O) Died
Davidson W C (P/O) Died
Flatt A L (P/O) Died
Loving L R B (F/L) Died
McGarrity B (P/O) Died
Running G A (P/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 04-11-1944
End Date 05-11-1944
Takeoff Station Skipton on Swale
Day/Night Raid Night (77% moon)
Operation Bochum. 749 aircraft, 28 losses (3.7%), mainly due to night-fighters. 346 Free French Squadron lost 5 out of its 16 Halifaxes. A very successful attack with severe damage to the centre of Bochum. More than 4000 buildings were destroyed, including the steel works. 994 people were killed. This was the last major raid on Bochum
Reason for Aircraft Loss Lost without trace with crew of seven. Possibly collided with Halifax ME835 AS-T of 166 Squadron as they approached the Dutch coast. A collision and explosion was witnessed by F/L Joseph B. Herman RAAF of 466 Squadron and described on page 166 of "Raider- the Halifax and its Flyers". Although the two aircraft were not identified at the time, there were only two aircraft lost on this attack not otherwise accounted for so it is highly likely that this accounts for the disappearance of both aircraft. The position of the collision is thought to be between The Hook of Holland and the small village of Ter Heijde. F/L Herman was unable to report his sighting to the authorities at the time since his own aircraft was shown down during this operation and he became a PoW. F/L Herman's survival in itself is a miracle since he was blown clear of the aircraft before he had chance to clip on his parachute and free fell 12,000 feet before miraculously finding the foot of his mid-upper gunner and hanging on. Both landed heavily but survived.
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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.