Mennie, Oliver Hanton

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Oliver Hanton
Surname Mennie
Gender M
Age 21
Decorations
Date of Death 21-07-1944
Next of Kin Son of Robert Armstrong Mennie and Jessie Mennie (née Harmond), of Toronto, Canada.
MENNIE OH

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Fairey Albacore
Serial Number X9281
Markings NH-H

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 247.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 211

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/24256
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 415 (Swordfish)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United States of America

Miscellaneous Information

Transferred from Coastal to Bomber Command on 12th July. This sortie is clearly one pertaining to Coastal Comment even though it occurred after the transfer date
Oliver was born in Michigan, USA on 20 June 1923. Both parents were born in Aberdeen, Scotland and his father worked as an Insurance Company Manager. He had two brothers, David and Sidney, and also sisters Ruby and Flora. A third sister, Dolly, sadly died in August 1942. The schools he attended were R.H. Mac Gregor 1930-1936, Toronto, followed by Danforth Technical school 1936-1940 (Industrial Course). His hobby was model aeroplanes, and sports were golf, baseball and swimming. Oliver worked as a fitter's helper and later as a Draftsman for Bennett & Wright and then as a Draftsman for Link-Belt Ltd., Toronto from 1941 onwards.
He enlisted on 23 January 1942 (he took an oath to the King). After training he was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Canada on 23 June 1943, arriving at 3PRC on 2July 1943. He was then at 14(P) AFU 27 July 1943, 7(C) OTU 7 September 1943, and 415 Squadron on 24 January 1944. Sadly Oliver went missing on 21 July 1944.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1813/4
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1813/3

Fellow Servicemen

Leach R A (P/O)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 21-07-1944
End Date 21-07-1944
Takeoff Station Manston
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Smoke deployment over an Allied convoy, followed by anti-shipping patrol
Reason for Loss Ditched in the English Channel. Air Sea Rescue only found an empty dinghy

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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.