Shannon, George Roland Gillies

Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) George Roland Gillies
Surname Shannon
Gender M
Date of Death 17-06-1944
SHANNON GRG

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number LK879
Markings OW-P

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery
Grave Reference Plot 69. Row A. Coll. grave 1.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 239

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/29581
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 426 (Thunderbird)
Squadron Motto On wings of fire
Trade Navigator
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Adjacent to Village Hall, Dishforth, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone with Inscribed Metal Plaque & Maple Tree
Memorial Text In memory of the Canadian aircrew of 425 and 426 Sqns RCAF who served at RAF Dishforth, 1942-1945
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Location Outside Village Hall, Linton on Ouse, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone with inscribed Slate Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of Canadian personnel who served at RAF Linton on Ouse during WW2, including 408 and 426 Sqns RCAF
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Miscellaneous Information

Tabor and his crew had only just arrived at 426 Squadron two weeks before, on 3 June 1944 after completing their Heavy Conversion training to four engine “heavies.” Tabor flew a couple of operations with more experienced pilots and crews as a second pilot or “second dickie”. Tabor’s first such flight came on the night of 5/6 June 1944. It was rather notable because the squadron’s task was to bomb a German coastal battery near Deauville in Normandy in support of the D-Day landings that would follow later that morning. He set out again that night as second pilot on an attack on key road, rail, and bridges near Counstances in the Contentin Peninsula. Their first “Op” as an entire crew came the following week on the night of 14/15 June as one of thirteen aircraft from 426 Squadron ordered to bomb rail facilities at St. Pol, near Arras, France. Flying in Halifax LK384 they dropped their bomb load on target at 0327 hours and returned to Linton without incident two hours later. Tabor described their first operation as a “good trip.” The next night,16/17 June, Tabor’s crew awaited the signal to take off again, this time in LK879. Their second trip would be more challenging than their first. This night would take them 370 miles from base, over occupied Europe to Germany’s industrial centre, the Ruhr. Take off was at 2306 hours. Flak was intense by the time Tabor approached the target area at approximately 01:20. They dropped their bomb load and cleared the target area without incident. LK879 was soon over Holland approaching the Dutch coast. Also flying that night was German night fighter pilot, Major Martin Drewes of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG1). A highly decorated ace by 1944, Drewes would eventually destroy fifty-two aircraft including forty-three Bomber Command four engine heavies. On this night, Drewes had already shot down a Lancaster near Amsterdam, his 43rd confirmed claim, just after 0200. Ten minutes later he stalked LK879 as it approached the Dutch coast. It was all over at 0216 - Drewes had claimed his 44th victim. The stricken aircraft cleared the Dutch coast but soon afterwards crashed into the North Sea off the Frisian Islands. There were no survivors – the bodies of Tabor and the rest of the crew eventually washed ashore along the northern Dutch province of Friesland. Bomber Command lost thirty other aircraft that night.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The National Archives

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.

Last Operation Information

Start Date 16-06-1944
End Date 17-06-1944
Takeoff Station Linton-on-Ouse
Day/Night Raid Night (16% moon)
Operation Sterkrade to bomb a synthetic oil plant, despite a poor local weather forecast The target was indeed covered in thick cloud and the PFF markers were not easily visible. Bombing was scattered as a result and there was little impact on production. The bomber stream passed within 30 miles of the Tame Boar night-fighter beacon that was being used that night, resulting in large bomber losses on the approach. Total losses for the night were 31 aircraft (13.6%) although losses among certain squadrons were higher still- notably 77 Sqn which Lost 7 of its 23 aircraft (30.3%).
Reason for Loss Crashed off the Dutch coast
 
 
 
 

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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.