Palmer, Charles William Died

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Personal Information

Rank W/C
Forename(s) Charles William
Surname Palmer
Gender M
Age 30
Decorations DFC, MiD
Date of Death 26-09-1944
Next of Kin Son of David Henry Palmer and Janet Palmer (née Proven), of Dundalk, Ontario.
PALMER CW 818

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster III
Serial Number PB129
Markings LQ-A

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Calais Canadian War Cemetery, Leubringhen
Grave Reference Coll. grave 5. C. 9.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 222
PALMER CW 818

Location

Row -
Panel 222
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 222

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/15818
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 8
Squadron 405 (Vancouver)
Squadron Motto Duicmus (We lead)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location South end of Boulevard de la Liberté, Ambletuese, 62 - Pas-de-Calais Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Stencilled composite information board
Memorial Text A la mémoire de l'équipage du bombardier Avro Lancaster (PB129) tombé dans le pré communal d'Ambleteuse le 26 Septembre 1944, abattu par la Flak
Translation "In memory of the crew of the Avro Lancaster bomber (PB129) which fell in the communal meadow of Ambleteuse on September 26, 1944, shot down by Flak"
Location Adjacent to Village Windmill, Mill Rd, Great Gransden, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone with inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Remembering 405 (Vancouver) Sqn. PFF at Gransden Lodge 1942 - 1945
Location St. Bartholomew's Church, Great Gransden, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window, RoH and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text Commemorating the 801 airmen of 405 Sqn. RCAF who gave their lives 1941 - 1945
Location Pocklington Gliding Club, Pocklington Airfield, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Marble Pillar and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text In memory of 102 (Ceylon) and 405 (Vancouver) Sqns. Pocklington Airfield

Miscellaneous Information

Charles was born on 1 August 1914 in Dundalk, Ontario. His father, a photographer, was born in Toronto and his mother was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He had a sister Helen and two brothers John H and James B. Unusually, the four siblings were in fact two pairs of twins. Helen was the twin sister of John H. and James B. was the twin brother of Charles. He attended Dundalk Public School 1921-1927 (Entrance) followed by Dundalk High School, 1927-1932 (Snr. Matric). His sport interests were basketball and all field sports. Between 1933-1937 Charles worked as a farm labourer for Irwin Wright and then became a truck driver for Dundalk Creamery between 1938-1940 until enlisting.
Charles enlisted on 22 November 1940 and embarked from Canada for the U.K. on 15 September 1941. He arrived at 3 PRC on 29 September 1941, 22 OTU 28 October 1941, 158 Sqn 12 May 1942, 405 Squadron 5 June 1942.
Mentioned in Despatches June 1944

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1789/17
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1789/17

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
Frey F J A (P/O) Died
Goddard W (F/L) Died
Laishley C E (F/O) Died
Peacock W G F (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 26-09-1944
End Date 26-09-1944
Takeoff Station Gransden Lodge
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Cap Gris Nez- to attack enemy strong points. 722 aircraft to carry out two separate raids. 531 aircraft attacked four targets at Cap Gris Nez and the rest attacked targets near Calais. Accurate and concentrated bombing was observed at all targets
Reason for Aircraft Loss Thought to have crashed in Allied held territory
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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.