RAMSAY KG
Ramsay, Kenneth Grant
Personal Information
| Rank | F/O |
| Forename(s) | Kenneth Grant |
| Surname | Ramsay |
| Gender | M |
| Age | 22 |
| Date of Death | 18-03-1944 |
| Next of Kin | Son of James Ramsay and Martha Winifred Ramsay (née McLellan), of Vancouver, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
| Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax III |
| Serial Number | LW655 |
| Markings | MP-V |
Memorial Information
| Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
| Burial/Memorial Place | Rheinberg War Cemetery |
| Grave Reference | 11. E. 25. |
| Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
| Phase | 2 |
| Panel Number | 229 |
Enlistment Information
| Service Number | J/22060 |
| Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Group | 4 |
| Squadron | 76 |
| Squadron Motto | Resolute |
| Trade | Navigator |
| Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
| Location | Behind old Main Guardroom, former Holme On Spalding Moor Airfield, East Yorkshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Stone Pillar with inscribed Metal Plaques |
| Memorial Text | In Remembrance of the aircrew members from the UK,Australia,New Zealand,Canada and Norway,who gave their lives in the cause of freedom in operational sorties against the enemy from 76 Sqn 1941-1945 and to the ground personal who lost their lives by enemy |
| Location | All Saints Church, Holme On Spalding Moor, East Yorkshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Stained Glass Window and Roll of Honour within Wooden Box with inscribed Metal Plaque |
| Memorial Text | S G Window In memory of 76 Sqn R.A.F / Roll of honour In memory of those members of 76 Sqn R.A.F who were killed on active service 1939-1954 |
| Location | Roadside location (off E6), Fættenfjord, near Åsenfjord, Trøndelag Fylke |
| Country | Norway |
| Memorial Type | Inscribed memorial stone atopped with inert aerial sea mine and Tirpitz anchor chain link |
| Memorial Text |
For Frihet Til minne om Allierte Flymannskaper fra RAF drept under angrep pa det tyske slagskipet Tirpitz i Fættenfjord 1942
Translation "For freedom In memory of the Allied Aircrews from the RAF who died in attacks on the German Battleship Tirpitz in the Fættenfjord 1942 " |
Miscellaneous Information
| This aircraft had a mid-under gun |
| Born on 27 April 1921 in Vancouver. His father, who died in 1935 , was born in Scotland and his mother in Nova Scotia. He was one of six children, two brothers, James Wilfred and William Gilmore as well as three sisters; Jean, Abbie and Winifred. Kenneth spent four years at High School and was in their Cadet Corps for one school term between 1939-1940. The last School he attended was Magee in Vancouver. The sports he participated in were Baseball, swimming and tennis. As a hobby he enjoyed repairing anything in the woodwork line and debating at young people’s groups. He had a St. John’s Ambulance certificate, had his own baseball team and was Vice President of a Young Peoples Association. Kenneth had a mixture of employment. He worked for National Biscuits in Vancouver as a candy maker on the night shift, for Simmons Ltd as a woodworker and for Jersey Farms, Vancouver, checking in returned milk. He also worked as a caddy on a golf course for six months. |
| He enlisted in Vancouver on 17 November 1941 and after training embarked for the U.K. on 3 February 1943, arriving at 3 PRC on the 14 February. He lost his life a little more than a year later. The circumstances surrounding his death attracted the attention of a post-war casualty team within RCAF. In a report there is some discussion about the fact that the German authorities took his identity disc and escape money three days before his death, implying that he was certainly taken into custody. The report suggests he may have escaped from custody and suggesting that the cause of his death may have either been a wound sustained whilst escaping or possibly due to a war crime and requesting an exhumation report before potentially referring it for War Crimes investigation. |
| Other sources, including letters from Ted Giles, the flight engineer, and an interview with Louis Makens, the mid-under gunner, state that the aircraft was attacked by gunfire from below from an unidentified source. This caused a fire, initially in the starboard inner engine, and its spread caused loss of control and the need to bale out. Both Makens and Giles speculate on the source of gunfire, friendly fire, and FW Condor both considered. WR Chorley's book To See The Dawn Breaking, 76 Squadron operations, suggests fore from a night-fighter. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Last Operation Information
| Start Date | 18-03-1944 |
| End Date | 19-03-1944 |
| Takeoff Station | Holme-on-Spalding-Moor |
| Day/Night Raid | Night (37% moon) |
| Operation | Frankfurt. 846 aircraft, 22 losses (2.6%). The German controller split the fighters- half went to the diversionary raid at Heligoland and the others met the Frankfurt bomber stream, although cloud preventing them making much of an impact. PFF marking was accurate leading to heavy bombing in central, eastern and western districts. Later bombing was scattered, but this was normal for such a large force due to creepback and also the fact that inexperienced bomber crews were placed at the back of the stream. Lots of cultural buildings were destroyed along with around 5500 houses, 99 industrial premises and 56 public buildings. 421 civilians killed and 55500 bombed out |
| Reason for Loss | Abandoned at 20000' and crashed at Nohn. F/O Ramsay was found dead in woods |