Patzer, Edwin Frederick Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Edwin Frederick
Surname Patzer
Gender M
Age 24
Date of Death 21-02-1945
Next of Kin Son of Benjamin and Pauline Patzer (née Hait), of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. Husband of Elizabeth Patzer (née Webster), whom he married on 31 March 1944 at Church of Scotland, Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland
PATZER EF

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax VII
Serial Number RG455
Markings QO-X

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Rheinberg War Cemetery
Grave Reference Joint grave 17. D. 10-11.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 224
PATZER EF

Location

Row -
Panel 224
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 224

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/87362
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 432 (Leaside)
Squadron Motto Saeviter ad lucem (Ferociously towards the light)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Patzer Lake, Saskatchewan
Country Canada
Memorial Type Lake
Memorial Text
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

Edwin was born at Yorkton, Saskatchewan on 18 August 1920. Both parents were born in Warsaw, Poland and his father’s occupation was a carpenter. Edwin was a hockey player and was a star defence man with the Yorkton Terriers. They had several children besides Edwin. There were four more sons - Thaddeus, Oscar, Eric and Lerif. Also daughters Amy and Herta Ruth. Two more girls, Amanda and Adeline sadly died within a day of one another on 14th and 15th of June 1911. Edwin attended Burke school, Yorkton, 1926-1934 (grade 8) and the Collegiate Institute 1934-1938 (grade 12 Sr. Matric.) He enjoyed playing hockey, baseball, rugby and tennis and his hobby was photography. He was employed by Ball Cartage Co,, Yorkton as a Trucker 1938-1939 then left to play hockey. Then he worked at Hudson’s Bay Co., at Yorkton, as a clerk (1939-1940) and left to play hockey. After that he worked as a Tester at the Great Lakes Paper Company in Fort William, during 1941 eventually leaving to join the Yorkton Terriers where he was then able to play hockey until enlisting on 10 August 1942.
After his initial training in Canada, he embarked for the U.K. on 27 May 1943, arriving at 3 PRC on 5 June 1943. He was then at 20 (P)AFU on 29 June 1943, 4 Radio School, 19 September 1943, 22 OTU 21 March 1944 and 61 Base on 6 July 1944. Edwin sadly lost his life on 21 February 1945.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/44
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1860/44

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
Grant C I (Sgt) Died
Mendenhall W G (P/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 20-02-1945
End Date 21-02-1945
Takeoff Station East Moor
Day/Night Raid Night (68% moon)
Operation Monheim- to attack the Rhenania Ossag oil refinery. 128 aircraft, 2 losses. A very accurate raid and all production was stopped at the facility
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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.