Kinnear, George Publow Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) George Publow
Surname Kinnear
Gender M
Age 23
Date of Death 23-04-1944
Next of Kin Son of William Francis Young Kinnear and Jessie Maude Kinnear (née Publow) of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
KINNEAR GP

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number MZ566
Markings MH-Y

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Grave Reference 7. C. 1.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 194
KINNEAR GP

Location

Row -
Panel 194
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 194

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/27395
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 51
Squadron Motto Swift and sure
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Monument, Bench & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In memory of the airmen of R.A.F. 51 Sqn. (687) and 150 Sqn. (205) between 1941 - 1945
Location Village Hall, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque on external wall
Memorial Text 51 Sqn RAF Snaith Oct 1942 - Apr 1945
Location St. John the Baptist Church, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Sqn Crest & Roll of Honour
Memorial Text 51 Sqn Roll of Honour
Location RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Monument, Multiple Inscribed Metal Plaques, Propeller Unit
Memorial Text In memory of the 687 airmen of 51 Sqn, 4 Gp, Bomber Command who lost their lives flying Halifax bombers Mks 2 and 3 at RAF Snaith between October 1942 and April 1945
Location Stn Church, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Roll of Honour in Wooden Case
Memorial Text Roll of Honour of 51 Sqn
Location Grounds of Selby Abbey, Selby, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone
Memorial Text 51 Sqn RAF. In proud and undying memory of all ranks killed or missing 1939 - 1945
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

George was born on 25 March 1921 at Kingston, Ontario. His father, a jeweller, was born in Toronto and his mother, who was deceased by the time of Geroge's enlistment, was born in Perth, Ontario. she died in 1926. He had two brothers, Lance Corporal Arthur Jolly Kinnear and John Publow Kinnear. The schools he attended were Victoria Public School. 1927-1935, Kingston Collegiate & Vocational Institute, 1935-1941 and finally Queen’s University, 1941-1942. He carried out several part time jobs during the school holidays: for Canadian Steamship Line as a deck hand 1938 and as a newsagent in 1940. In 1939 he worked as a golf caddy, for CNR as a Shipper in 1941, for the Aluminium Company and finally as a plumbers helper during May/June 1942. His hobbies included being a High School Cadet and building model aircraft and sports were mainly rugby and basketball with a little hockey. George then enlisted on 3 July 1942.
After training he was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Canada on 16 July 1943. He arrived at 3PRC on 23 July. Then went on to 6 (0) AFU 10 August 1943, 15 OTU 8 September 1943, 20 OTU 28 September 1943, 41 Base 18 January 1944, 1658 CU 11 February 1944. He sadly is then shown as missing from 51 Squadron on 23 April 1944.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/493/8
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/493/8

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
Harvey O S (F/S) Died
Kenyon J (Sgt) Died
Murphy L (Sgt) Died
Sedgwick D L (F/L) Died
Thomson S I (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 22-04-1944
End Date 23-04-1944
Takeoff Station Snaith
Day/Night Raid Night (0% moon)
Operation Düsseldorf. 596 aircraft, 29 losses (4.9%). 2150 tones of bombs were dropped, causing considerable damage, mainly to the northern districts. 56 large industrial premises were hit, of which 7 were destroyed. More than 2000 homes were destroyed, 883 people killed and 593 injured, although these figures were compiled before all the missing had been dug out.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Hit by flak over the target
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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.