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Kirkland, Harry Nettleton

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Harry Nettleton
Surname Kirkland
Gender M
Age 22
Decorations
Date of Death 26-02-1943
Next of Kin Son of Dalton Archibald Kirkland and Grace Kirkland (née Nettleton), of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
KIRKLAND HN

Aircraft Information

Aircraft de Havilland Mosquito IV
Serial Number DZ413
Markings GB-K

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Rennes Eastern Communal Cemetery
Grave Reference Sec. 18. Plot 1. Row C. Grave 5.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 194

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/10427
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 2
Squadron 105
Trade Navigator
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location All Saints Church, Swanton Morley, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Window
Memorial Text A memorial to all those who served at RAF Swanton Morley during WW2, including 105 Sqn from October 1940 to December 1941
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Miscellaneous Information

Harry was born on 19 September 1920 at Edmonton, Alberta. His parents were both born in Ontario, his father in Cremore where he was a manager and his mother in Collingwood. He had a brother William and a sister Helen. He attended Oliver and Westmount Public schools, 1927-1935 and Westmount and Victoria, 1935-1939 (High). He also attended the University of Alberta, 1939-1941 where he studied chemistry, botany etc.(B.Sc). He was also a C.O.T.C. Cadet. His sport interests were swimming, basketball, golf, tennis etc.and his hobby was photography. He undertook some temporary farming work and then he spent two months in 1940 surveying for the Government of Alberta.
Harry then enlisted on 23 April 1941 and after training embarked for the U.K. He arrived in April 1942 and then went to 2 (0) AFU on 26 May 1942, 17 OTU 23 June 1942 and 105 Squadron on 31 August 1942. Sadly Harry was to lose his life on 26 February 1943.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/827/4
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/827/3

Fellow Servicemen

Kimmel S G (F/O)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 26-02-1943
End Date 26-02-1943
Takeoff Station Marham
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Rennes to attack a naval stores depot. 17 Mosquito sorties, 3 lost (17.6%)
Reason for Loss Collided with another Mosquito (DZ365 GB-V) in the target area

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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.