Owen, William
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | William |
Surname | Owen |
Gender | M |
Age | 19 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 24-07-1941 |
Next of Kin | Son of William Owen and Frances Alice Owen (née Ferris), of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Vickers Wellington IC |
Serial Number | N2854 |
Markings | AA- |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Runnymede Memorial |
Grave Reference | Panel 61. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 221 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/58067 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 3 |
Squadron | 75 (NZ) |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Village Centre, Mepal, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial & Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | A stone memorial, donated by former members of 75 (NZ) Sqn RAF stationed at Mepal between 1943 and 1945 |
Location | St. Andrews Church, Sutton, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Roll of Honour in Wooden Case with brass plaque |
Memorial Text | Roll of Honour. Plaque, Presented by 75(NZ) Sqn Association - UK Branch in memory of Comrades named in the Roll of Honour |
Location | St. Marys Church, Feltwell, Norfolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Piller and Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | A memorial to 75 (NZ) Sqn, RAF. Formed at RAF Feltwell in April 1940 and flew from there until June 1942. The Sqn number was presented to New Zealand becoming 75 Sqn RNZAF in October 1946 until its disbanding in December 2001. |
Location | Newmarket Racecourse, Newmarket, Suffolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | Remembering No 75 (New Zealand) Sqn, No 3 Gp Bomber Command. RAF Newmarket Heath, November 1942 - June 1943 |
Miscellaneous Information
William was born in Shanghai, China on 21 November 1921. His mother was born in Shanghai, China and his father, a bookkeeper/accountant, was also born in China. He had three sisters, Shirley Frances, Gwendolyn May and Eleanor Grace. He attended Windsor Street school between 1927-1935 and South Burnaby High 1935-1939, both in British Columbia. He also went to Duffus Business College in Vancouver (Commercial Course) 1939-1940. Football, rugby, tennis, badminton, skiing and swimming were all sports which William enjoyed. He was never employed as he joined up straight after business school, enlisting on 17 June 1940. |
After training he was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Canada on 24 March 1941, arriving in the U.K. at 3PRC on 17 April 1941. He was then at 12 OTU on 22 April 1941 and 75 Squadron on 29 June 1941. This young nineteen year old sadly lost his life on 24 July 1941, less than a month after joining the squadron. |
Casualty Pack Number Find Out More
AIR 81/7831 (P360797/41) |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/645/34 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/645/33 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 24-07-1941 |
End Date | 24-07-1941 |
Takeoff Station | Feltwell |
Day/Night Raid | Day |
Operation | Brest to attack the Gneisenau |
Reason for Loss | Lost without trace |