Parkinson, William Henry Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) William Henry
Surname Parkinson
Gender M
Age 29
Date of Death 09-05-1944
Next of Kin Son of William Parkinson and Elizabeth Jane Parkinson (née Coker), of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
PARKINSON WH

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number LW594
Markings QO-G

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Gosseliès Communal Cemetery
Grave Reference Row 2. Coll. grave 32-33.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 223
PARKINSON WH

Location

Row -
Panel 223
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 223

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/24930
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 432 (Leaside)
Squadron Motto Saeviter ad lucem (Ferociously towards the light)
Trade WOp/AG
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

Of the surviving four members of the crew, two evaded capture and two became PoW
William was born at Guelph, Ontario on 8 March 1915. His father was a farmer born at Eramosa, Ontario and died when William was only an infant, his mother was also born at Eramosa. He had two brothers Archibald and George. The schools he attended were. SS2 Eramosa, Ontario, 1920-1926, followed by Guelph Collegiate 1926-1932. He played baseball sometimes and his hobby was shooting. For work he was farming at Eramosa 1932-1935, was a Ranch helper at Kitchener 1935-1939, was a Diamond driller operator at Coniaurum mines 1939-1940 and was farming his own Fur Farm at Eramosa, Ontario 1940 -1942.
William then enlisted at Hamilton, Ontario on 29 April 1942. After training he was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Canada on 16 July 1943, arriving at 3PRC on 23 July 1943 and was at 24 OTU on 21 September 1943, then 432 Squadron on 21 February 1944. He lost his life on 9 May 1944.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/26
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/26

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
Hawkins S A (F/O) Died
Ibbotson H (P/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 08-05-1944
End Date 09-05-1944
Takeoff Station East Moor
Day/Night Raid Night (99% moon)
Operation Haine St Pierre- to attack railway installations. 123 aircraft, 9 losses (7.3%). severe damage to half of the railway yards and engine sheds
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed at Grand Reng, Belgium, SE of Mons
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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.