Johnson, John Rudolph Died

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) John Rudolph
Surname Johnson
Gender M
Age 26
Date of Death 31-10-1941
Next of Kin Son of John Fredrick Johnson and Julia Johnson (née Ursulla), of Kingston, Jamaica, British West Indies.
JOHNSON JR 089

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax I
Serial Number L9602
Markings MP-N

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 61.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 190
JOHNSON JR 089

Location

Row -
Panel 190
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 190

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/56089
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 76
Squadron Motto Resolute
Trade Observer
Country of Origin Jamaica

Other Memorials

Location Behind old Main Guardroom, former Holme On Spalding Moor Airfield, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Pillar with inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In Remembrance of the aircrew members from the UK,Australia,New Zealand,Canada and Norway,who gave their lives in the cause of freedom in operational sorties against the enemy from 76 Sqn 1941-1945 and to the ground personal who lost their lives by enemy action "They gave their today for our tomorrow we who survived give thanks to almighty God We will remember them 76 Sqn WWII founded as 76 home defence Sqn Royal Flying Corps 1916 Ripon Yorkshire Commenced operations against enemy Zeppelins 1917-1918 Aircraft BE2C-BE12B Reformed as 76 Sqn bomber command 4 group 1941 aircraft Handley-Page,Hampden & Halifax B Series I.IIV.III.VI Linton-on-Ouse Yorkshire commenced operations against enemy shipping 1941 (Tirpitz-Scharnhorst-Gneisenad) detachment dispatched to Egypt 1942 transfered to Holme-on-Spalding Moor Airfield continued operations against enemy mainland targets 1945 5296 operations undertaken against enemy targets 160 aircraft and personnel failed to return
Location All Saints Church, Holme On Spalding Moor, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window and Roll of Honour within Wooden Box with inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text S G Window In memory of 76 Sqn R.A.F / Roll of honour In memory of those members of 76 Sqn R.A.F who were killed on active service 1939-1954
Location Roadside location (off E6), Fættenfjord, near Åsenfjord, Trøndelag Fylke
Country Norway
Memorial Type Inscribed memorial stone atopped with inert aerial sea mine and Tirpitz anchor chain link
Memorial Text For Frihet Til minne om Allierte Flymannskaper fra RAF drept under angrep pa det tyske slagskipet Tirpitz i Fættenfjord 1942
Translation "For freedom In memory of the Allied Aircrews from the RAF who died in attacks on the German Battleship Tirpitz in the Fættenfjord 1942 "
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Gardens, Propeller, Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text In everlasting homage to the courage of those who have found their winged victory through the skies of Yorkshire
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Propeller Unit & Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text They made the supreme sacrifice so that you & I may go in peace with freedom. 4 Group 1939 - 1945.
Location Heslington Hall, York, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Heslington Hall 1941 - 1945, 4 Gp Headquarters Bomber Command. In remembrance of those Air & Ground personnel who made the supreme sacrifice that we all may walk in peace with freedom

Miscellaneous Information

John was born on 3 November 1914 at Kingston, Jamaica, British West Indies. His father, a salvage engineer, was born in LIverpool, England and his mother was born at St. Mary, Jamaica. He had one sister Hilma, who was married with two children at the time of John's enlistment. His attended Clarke School, Kingston, Jamaica 1920-1924 followed by Wolmers school, Kingston 1925-1930. He also took Radio courses at R.C.A. Radio, New York. 1930-1931. He worked for Pan American Airways, Jamaica, as a Radio Operator between 1932-1936 and in 1937 took private instruction in bookkeeping, between January-November. Between 1936 and 1939 John was working in the family business (Johnson & Company, Kingston, Jamaica, Commission Agents) in order to take over a portion of the business. He is next shown as John R. Johnson & Co, Kingston. Commission Agents. where he worked from 1939 onwards. When he had time he enjoyed writing and for sports, football, boxing and swimming.
John enlisted on 22 June 1940 and after training embarked for the U.K. where he arrived at 3PRC on 2 May 1941. He then went to 27 OTU on 24 May 1941, 104 Sqn 7 July 1941, 10 Sqn on 9 July and 76 Squadron on 30 September 1941. Sadly he was to lose his life the following month on 31 October 1941.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/650/10
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/650/10

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
Brooks F C (P/O) Died
Flannigan J (F/S) Died
McLean N F (P/O) Died
Mycock J (Sgt) Died
O'Brien C S (F/S) Died
Wood C E (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 31-10-1941
End Date 01-11-1941
Takeoff Station Middleton St. George
Day/Night Raid Night (92% moon)
Operation Dunkirk
Reason for Aircraft Loss Lost without trace
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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.