Freeman, George Frank Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) George Frank
Surname Freeman
Gender M
Age 20
Decorations Croix de Guerre 1940 avec Palm (Belgium).
Date of Death 28-05-1944
Next of Kin Son of Christopher Willie (William) Freeman and Kate Elizabeth Freeman (née Mansell), of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
FREEMAN GF

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number HX313
Markings QB-B

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Heverlee War Cemetery
Grave Reference 5. D. 3.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 166
FREEMAN GF

Location

Row -
Panel 166
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 166

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/88397
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 Heldeplein, Oostham, Limburg Province
Country Belgium
Memorial Type Inscribed metal sculpture & stencilled information board
Memorial Text
Translation "A memorial to RCAF Halifax HX313 of 424 Sqn - shot down on 28 May 1944"
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

See the book 'De laaste Vlucht van de Blonde Bomber' by Frans Smolders
George was born on 10 April 1924 at Toronto, Ontario. His father was a Green Keeper born in Hereford, England and his mother was born at Richmond, Surrey, England. He had one married sister. The schools he attended were Bichcliff, Toronto (probably a typing error for Birch Cliff) 1931- 1939, followed by Scarborough Collegiate, 1939-1941. His sporting interests were golf, hockey rugby and baseball. George worked for Tom Taylor, sail making from 1940 to 1941 and then for T. Eaton Co. Ltd, Toronto as an upholsterer, 1941-1942. He then enlisted on 1 September 1942.
After training he was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Canada on 16 July 1943 arriving at 3 PRC on 23 July 1943. From there he continued to 22 OTU 10 August 1943, 1664 CU 30 September, 431 Sqn 23 November 1943, 61 Base 9 December 1843 and then 424 Squadron 30 January 1944. Sadly George then lost his life on 28 May 1944 aged just 20 years.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1835/8
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1835/8

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
Irwin R A (F/O) Died
Wakely W G (P/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 27-05-1944
End Date 28-05-1944
Takeoff Station Skipton on Swale
Day/Night Raid Night (31% moon)
Operation Bourg-Leopold to bomb the military camp. 331 aircraft, 10 Lost (3.0%). The use of Oboe helped to pinpoint the target exactly resulting in serious damage to the target.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed at Oostham Langven, Belgium
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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.