Freeman, John Ernest Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) John Ernest
Surname Freeman
Gender M
Age 35
Date of Death 02-12-1944
Next of Kin Son of Earl Ernest Freeman and Elsie Mary Freeman (née Taylor) of Innisfail. Alberta, Canada. Husband of Pauline Frances Freeman (née Boehm) on 4 April 1942 at Calgary. Father of one daughter.
FREEMAN JE

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax VII
Serial Number NP745
Markings EQ-H

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery
Grave Reference Sec. H. Row C. Grave 19.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 167
FREEMAN JE

Location

Row -
Panel 167
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 167

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/39402
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 408 (Goose)
Squadron Motto For freedom
Trade Navigator
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Village Centre, Linton on Ouse, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Memorial and inscribed slate tablet
Memorial Text In memory of 408 (Goose) and 426 (Thunderbird) Squadrons of R.C.A.F
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

Died of his injuries.
John was born on 24 August 1909 at Chicago, Illinois, USA. His father, a lawyer, was born in Yarker, Ontario and his mother in Castleton, North Dakota, USA. The schools he attended were Didsbury Public School. 1915-1923 and Didsbury High 1923-1927. He also went to Calgary Normal 1927-1928 where he gained a First class teacher’s Certificate (all in Alberta). John enjoyed playing baseball, softball, curling and swimming as well as photography which was his hobby. He worked between 1928-1929 as a teacher for Robinson of South Dakota and then, also as a teacher at Big Bend, South Dakota between 1929-1935. After that John was a clerk for E.E. Freeman (his father), 1935-1937 at Innisfail . He was a detective Constable for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police where he was also a photographer, 1937-1942.
After enlisting on 5 September 1942 and he had finished his basic training, he embarked from Canada to the U.K. where he arrived at 3 RCAF(PRC) on 15 March 1944. He then went to 1(0)AFU. 25 April 1944, 82 OTU 6 June 1944, 86 OTU 21 June 1944, 61 Base 14 August 1944 and 408 Squadron on 4 October 1944. Sadly, John lost his life on 2 December 1944 whilst still under training.

Last Operation Information

Start Date 17-10-1944
End Date 17-10-1944
Takeoff Station Linton-on-Ouse
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Training
Reason for Aircraft Loss Iced up in snowy conditions over the Lake District and was abandoned. Crashed at Penruddock, WSW of Penrith. The other crew members survived, some with injuries. John survived the jump but fell heavily in the dark and fractured his pelvis and was only found on open moorland on the afternoon of the 18th. Sadly, John had also suffered serious internal injuries to which he succumbed on 2 December 1944.
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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.