Forbes, William Clyde
Personal Information
Rank | WO2 |
Forename(s) | William Clyde |
Surname | Forbes |
Gender | M |
Age | 25 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 03-03-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Clyde Forbes and May Forbes (née Chauvin), of Windsor. Ontario, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Vickers Wellington III |
Serial Number | BK334 |
Markings | KW-B |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Hamburg Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 5A. A1. 8. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 165 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/83127 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 425 (Alouette) |
Trade | WOp/AG |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Outside Village Hall, Dishforth, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone and inscribed metal plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of the Canadian aircrew of 425 and 426 Sqns RCAF who served at RAF Dishforth, 1942-1945 |
Location | Village Green, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone, inscribed metal plaque and Maple Tree |
Memorial Text | A memorial, in French, to those Canadians who served at RAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 425 Sqn |
Location | Former Control Tower, Tholthorpe Airfield, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those Canadians who served at RAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 425 Sqn |
Miscellaneous Information
William was born on 19 July 1917 at Windsor, Ontario. His father was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA and was a C.N.R. Yard Foreman and his mother, who deceased by the time of William's enlistment, was born at Joachim, Ontario. The schools he attended were St.Francis, 1923 -1931, Assumption College 1931- 1936 (Matric) and again 1936-1937. Between 1937 and 1938 he was at Detroit Institute Of Technology on a comptometer course. His sports interests were tennis and handball and he had enjoyed football while at school. William worked as a Salesman for the Canada Bread company 1937-1940 and then enlisted on 20 December 1940. |
After training he was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Canada on 30 March 1942 arriving at 3PRC on 16 April 1942. He then continued to 4 SS 18 May 1942, 23 OTU 14 July 1942, and 425 Squadron on 28 September 1942. William sadly then lost his life on 3 March 1943. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 03-03-1943 |
End Date | 04-03-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Dishforth |
Day/Night Raid | Night (8% moon) |
Operation | Hamburg. 417 aircraft, 10 losses (2.4%). Clear conditions but PFF appear to have misread the H2S indications and confused some sandbanks in the Elbe estuary as being Hamburg docks. As a consequence the majority of the bombing took place on the small town of Wedel where some surprisingly important targets were hit. |
Reason for Loss | Crashed at Schenefeld, Germany |