Popplewell, Chetwin Hamre

Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Chetwin Hamre
Surname Popplewell
Gender M
Age 22
Decorations
Date of Death 29-09-1943
Next of Kin Son of Roy Harold Popplewell and Olive Constance Popplewell (née Hamre), of Davidson, Saskatchewan, Canada. Husband of Eileen Mary Popplewell (née Howard), whom he married on 10 August 1943 at Aylesham, Norfolk.
POPPLEWELL CH

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax V
Serial Number LK634
Markings IP-T T-Tommy

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Grave Reference 23. E. 3.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 227

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/16305
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 434 (Bluenose)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Popplewell Island, Saskatchewan
Country Canada
Memorial Type Island
Memorial Text
View On Google Maps View On what3words
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
View On Google Maps View On what3words
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
View On Google Maps View On what3words

Miscellaneous Information

Chetwin was born at Davidson, Saskatchewan on 10 January 1921. His father was born at Toronto and was a retail merchant (grocer) and his mother was born at Hanley Falls, Minnesota, USA. He attended Dinsmore Public school, Saskatchewan 1927-1935 (grade 8) and then the High school 1935-1939 (grade 12, Jnr. and Snr. Matric). Chetwin’s hobby was music/singing and his main sports were hockey, baseball, tennis and track events. Between 1939- 1940 he took on odd jobs, and then worked as a Warehouseman at the B.A. Oil Company at Dinsmore, grain buyers, for a few months in 1940. He also worked at the Red & White Store as a clerk from 1941 until enlisting on 9 May 1941. He was known as Chet.
After enlisting and completing his training he was posted to the U.K., embarking from Canada on 8 January 1942. Arriving at 3 PRC on 21 January 1942 he was then at 3 (P)AFU on 23 June 1942. In August he was posted to 88 Squadron and flew his first operation on 8 November. On 6 July 1943 he was posted to 1664 CU and began training on Halifax bombers and finally 434 Squadron on 2 August 1943.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Fellow Servicemen

Last Operation Information

Start Date 29-09-1943
End Date 30-09-1943
Takeoff Station Tholthorpe
Day/Night Raid Night (0% moon)
Operation Bochum. 352 aircraft, 9 losses (2.6%). Oboe equipped PFF accurately marked the target leading to concentrated bombing. 161 deaths on the ground
Reason for Loss Shot down by as Hptm. Egmont Prinz zur Lippe Weissenfeld and crashed in a field near to Legden, 15km WNW of Munster.
 
 
 
 

Please Wait

Close

Suggest An Edit

Submit a Photo

Once submitted, your photo will be submitted for verification and will be shown on the database record shortly.

Disclaimer I acknowledge that I remain the copyright holder of the original document(s). I hereby grant copyright in the digital version to the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) and I consent to IBCC making digital copies freely available online under a Creative Commons non-commercial licence. IBCC may also use, reproduce or incorporate it into other works in any media, or licence its use for purposes of ensuring the sustainability of its Digital Archive and Losses Database. I understand that digital copies will be owned and controlled by IBCC, and I irrevocably agree to IBCC using and publishing digital copies however it sees fit, but always in line with its responsibilities to preserve and protect such ephemera.

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.