Lunney, Vernal Norwood Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Vernal Norwood
Surname Lunney
Gender M
Age 20
Date of Death 29-03-1944
Next of Kin Son of John Robert Lunney and Helena Elizabeth Mae Lunney (née West), of Banning Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
LUNNEY VN

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number HR912
Markings VR-G

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 251.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 201
LUNNEY VN

Location

Row -
Panel 201
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 201

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/92324
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 419 (Moose)
Squadron Motto Moosa aswayita
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Lunney Lake, Manitoba; 30km west of Tadoule Lake
Country Canada
Memorial Type Lake
Memorial Text
Location Outside Former St. Georges Hotel, Teesside Airport, County Durham
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Slate Memorial Tablet on Stone Memorial
Memorial Text A memorial to Nos 419, 420 and 428 Sqns RCAF who flew from RAF Middleton St George during WW2
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

Vernal was born on 3 December 1923 at Banning Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba. His father was born in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and he worked as a City Foreman and his mother was born in London, England. He had two brothers, Garnet Robert and Dennis Albert. Garnet was a photographer. The schools he attended between 1930 and 1938 were both Greenway and General Wolfe , followed by Gordon Bell school between 1939-1941. He took part in most sports. Between 1937 -1938 he was working as a carrier for the Tribune as well as an roller skating instructor for the Civic Auditorium for 3 years between 1937-1940. He was a trucker for Eatons for one year, 1941-1942 before returning to the Civic Auditorium Roller Rink as an instructor during 1942. He then enlisted on 23 June 1942.
After training, Vernal was posted to the U.K. and he embarked from Halifax on 30 June 1943 arriving at 3PRC on 8 July 1943. He was then at 6(0) AFU 27 July 1943, 24 OTU on 24 August 1943, 419 Sqn 6 January 1944, 61 RCAF Base 27 February 1944. and back at 419 Squadron on 16 March 1944. Sadly, Vernal lost his life shortly afterwards on 29 March 1944 at the age of twenty.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1823/6
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1823/6

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
Greenidge J A (P/O) Died
Humphreys E O E (WO1) Died
Lowe T B (P/O) Died
Sinclair W A (Sgt) Died
Surridge E G (P/O) Died
Wheeler M W (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 29-03-1944
End Date 30-03-1944
Takeoff Station Middleton St. George
Day/Night Raid Night (35% moon)
Operation Vaires- to bomb railway yards at Paris-Vaires
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.