Parrott, James Murray Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) James Murray
Surname Parrott
Gender M
Age 24
Date of Death 18-12-1944
Next of Kin Son of Wesley Emerson Parrott and Bertha Elizabeth Parrott (née Ley), of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
PARROTT JM

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number NR118
Markings WL-U

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Leopoldsburg War Cemetery
Grave Reference VIII. B. 15.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 223
PARROTT JM

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/21253
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 434 (Bluenose)
Squadron Motto In excelsis vincimus (We conquer in the heights)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Route de Dailly, Couvin, Dailly, Namur Province
Country Belgium
Memorial Type Memorial stone, metal sculpture & inscribed composite plaque
Memorial Text
Translation "A memorial to the crew of Halifax NR118 of 434 Sqn Royal Canadian Air Force lost during a raid on Duisburg on 18 December 1944"
Location Race Control Building, Croft Auto Circuit, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF
Location Roadside Location, A167, Dalton on Tees, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Memorial topped with metal statue
Memorial Text In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF
Location Village Green, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone with inscribed Metal Plaque and Maple Tree
Memorial Text A memorial to those Canadians who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 434 Sqn RCAF
Location Former Control Tower, old Tholthorpe airfield site, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text A memorial to those Canadians who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 434 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

James was born at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on 30 January 1920. His father, a farmer, was born at Chatham, Ontario and was deceased by the time of James' enlistment. His mother was born at Ellesmere, Ontario. He had a brother, Donald who was in the RCAF at Camp Borden, and a sister Margaret. He attended Markham Public School 1926- 1933 followed by Markham High 1933-1937. The sports James enjoyed were baseball, hockey and soccer and his hobbies were hunting, fishing and the radio. James then worked as a Miller for Reesors Marmill Ltd., publishers of turkey farm management books between 1937-1940 and then at Roselawn Dairy as a Milk Salesman 1940-1941.
After initial training James was posted the UK and passed through 15 (P) AFU to 24 OTU on 27 June 1944, then from 61 Base to 1664 CU 20 September 1944, and then 61 Base to 434 Squadron on 25 October 1944. Sadly James then lost his life on 18 December 1944.
P/O Herbert Brown, the wireless operator, baled out and landed in Allied held territory unharmed.

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
Divitcoff A (F/S) Died
Janzen L H (P/O) Died
Kurtzhals A E (P/O) Died
Martin S D (WO1) Died
Olafsen G W (WO2) Died
Pearce S H J (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 17-12-1944
End Date 18-12-1944
Takeoff Station Croft
Day/Night Raid Night (7% moon)
Operation Duisburg. 523 aircraft, 8 Halifaxes lost (1.5%). A successful raid. 346 houses destroyed and 524 badly damaged.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Thought to have been caught in the blast from another aircraft collision over the target.
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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.