Oddan, Harold Engman Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Harold Engman
Surname Oddan
Gender M
Age 33
Date of Death 13-05-1944
Next of Kin Son of Ole John Oddan and Mary Sophie Oddan (née Vick) of Marshall, Saskatchewan. Husband of Adrianna Jessie Oddan (née Raynolson)- marriage 18 April 1942, in Calgary. Father of Sharon May Oddan- born 7 September 1943, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
ODDAN HE

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster X
Serial Number KB713
Markings VR-X

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Adegem Canadian War Cemetery
Grave Reference Coll. grave IV. AA. 5.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 220
ODDAN HE

Location

Row -
Panel 220
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 220

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/38163
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 419 (Moose)
Squadron Motto Moosa aswayita
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Oddan Lake, Saskatchewan
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

Harold was born on 12 March 1911 at Lot 7 Baie St.Paul, Québec. His father was a farmer and both parents were born in Minnesota, USA. He had three brothers John, Vick and Glen and six sisters, Alma, Ellen, Shirley, Rhoda, Frances and Thora. Harold went to Hatton School 1922-1926 (General) and again from 1926-1928. The sports he enjoyed were ball, shooting and skiing. He worked for his father on the farm 1928-1935 and during the winter 1933-1935 he also worked as a mail carrier but the work was not steady and he left when the route was changed. Harold then bought his own land to farm in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan 1936-1941. In all he spent 3 years as a mail carrier and 12 years in farming.
Harold enlisted on 10 July 1941, embarking from Canada for the U.K. on 14 December 1942. He then went to 3 PRC on 22 December 1943, 61 Base 4 February 1944 and 419 Squadron on 16 March 1944. Two months later on 13 May 1944 Harold sadly lost his life.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1823/10
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1823/10

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
Campbell R R (F/O) Died
Carruthers J R (Sgt) Died
Dewar P (P/O) Died
Edwards B F (F/O) Died
Smith R S (P/O) Died
Webber J A (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 12-05-1944
End Date 13-05-1944
Takeoff Station Middleton St. George
Day/Night Raid Night (77% moon)
Operation Leuven/ Louvain- to bomb railway yards. 120 aircraft, 5 losses (4.2%). A more accurate bombing raid than the previous night with considerable damage to the yards. According to the local report, repairs were still being carried out some six months later. Civilian casualties were heavy with 160 deaths and 208 injured. Part of the local University, 8 factories, 4 convents and a church were also damaged
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed and exploded at Reninge, Holland on outbound leg
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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.