Morrow, Hugh Francis Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Hugh Francis
Surname Morrow
Gender M
Age 22
Date of Death 17-06-1944
Next of Kin Son of Hugh Morrow and Sara Williamson Morrow (née McFarlane), of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
MORROW HF

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number NA516
Markings QA-A

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Gorssel General Cemetery
Grave Reference Row A. Grave 19.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 215
MORROW HF

Location

Row -
Panel 215
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 215

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/28294
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 432 (Leaside)
Squadron Motto Saeviter ad lucem (Ferociously towards the light)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Village Centre, Sutton on the Forest, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone & Metal Sun Dial
Memorial Text A memorial to all those who served at RAF East Moor and in particular 415 Sqn RCAF
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

Hugh was born on 18 June 1921 at Vancouver. Both parents were born in Ireland, his father in County Derry who worked as a real estate broker and his mother in County Antrim. He had a sister Sara Eileen and two brothers, Henry who was in the Canadian Army overseas and James. He attended Seaview school, Kitsilano 1927-1933 followed by Kitsilano High, 1933-1939. His sport interests were Lacrosse, basketball, swimming and golf and his hobbies were gym and reading. Hugh worked as a clerk at the Canadian Bank of Commerce, Nelson, British Colombia for 2 years, from 1939 until enlisting on 25 August 1941.
After training he embarked from NewYork on 12 October 1943, arriving 3 PRC 20 October. He then went to 81 OTU 23 November 1943, 82 OTU 1 January 1944, 61 Base 8 April 1944 and 432 Squadron 5 May 1944. Very sadly Hugh was to lose his life the following month on 17 June 1944, the day before his 23rd birthday.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/28
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/28

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
Johnston J M (P/O) Died
Shanks J L (P/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 16-06-1944
End Date 17-06-1944
Takeoff Station East Moor
Day/Night Raid Night (16% moon)
Operation Sterkrade to bomb a synthetic oil plant, despite a poor local weather forecast The target was indeed covered in thick cloud and the PFF markers were not easily visible. Bombing was scattered as a result and there was little impact on production. The bomber stream passed within 30 miles of the Tame Boar night-fighter beacon that was being used that night, resulting in large bomber losses on the approach. Total losses for the night were 31 aircraft (13.6%) although losses among certain squadrons were higher still- notably 77 Sqn which Lost 7 of its 23 aircraft (30.3%).
Reason for Aircraft Loss Hit by cannon fire from a night-fighter at 18000' and while closing on the Dutch coastline on the return journey. Crashed at Almen, WSW of Lochem, Holland
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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.