Staples, Murray Clement
Personal Information
Rank | P/O |
Forename(s) | Murray Clement |
Surname | Staples |
Gender | M |
Age | 23 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 29-07-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Josiah Clement and Mabel Bertha Clement (née Thompson), of Winnipeg , Manitoba, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster III |
Serial Number | ED598 |
Markings | GT- |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Hamburg Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 5A. J. 12. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 246 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/17698 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 8 |
Squadron | 156 |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Staples Lake, Manitoba; 10km east of Etawney Lake |
Country | Canada |
Memorial Type | Lake |
Memorial Text |
Location | St. Mary Magdalene Church, Warboys, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stained Glass Window & Inscribed Slate Tablet |
Memorial Text | We light the way" This tablet is placed in memory of Flight Lieutenant JL Sloper DFC and Bar, RAFVR. And in tribute to all who served with 156 Squadron Path Finders Force at RAF Warboys, 1942-1945, In gratitude. |
Location | Tithe Farm, Warboys, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Pillars and inscribed Metal Plaques |
Memorial Text | From this RAF Station Warboys 156 squadrons No 8 (PFF) group, marked targets for Bomber Command 1942-1944 |
Miscellaneous Information
Murray was born on 19 January 1920 at Winnipeg , Manitoba. His father was a livestock salesman and both parents were born in Ontario. He had a sister Helen. Murray went to St. James school 1926-1934 and then St.James Collegiate Institute between 1934-1937. His sport interests were golf, curling, baseball and hockey and his hobby was the knowledge of motor mechanics. Between 1937-1940 he worked as a clerk for Ashdown Hardware. He then took on temporary work in advertising with Procter and Gamble and as a Salesman with Beatty Washers (washing machines), both in 1940. Finally Murray worked as a Parts Man at General Motors from October 1940 until enlisting on 14 May 1941. |
After training Murray was posted to the U.K. and arrived in England at 3 PRC on 10 March 1942. From there he went to 7 AGS 10 May 1942, 26 OTU 2 June 1942, 150 Sqn 14 Sept 1942, 199 Sqn 16 November 1942 and 156 Squadron on 3 June 1943. The following month Murray sadly lost his life on 29 July. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1041/36 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1041/35 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 29-07-1943 |
End Date | 30-07-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Warboys |
Day/Night Raid | Night (4% moon) |
Operation | Hamburg. 787 aircraft, 17 losses (2.2%). For the second consecutive raid, Brig. Gen. Anderson, the commander of the American 8th Air Force, flew as an observer on this operation. PFF used H2S to mark the target but were approximately 3km east of the centre of the city but was at least concentrated, leading to concentrated bombing with little creepback. This raid caused a firestorm resulting from very high summer temperatures and low humidity following a particularly dry spell. Most of the fire crews were in the west of the city following the raid of three nights earlier and few could make the journey to the new fires due to rubble blocking roads. The fires quickly joined into one mass of fire, drawing so much oxygen into the area that it caused storm-force winds. The fire raged for over three hours after the raid and only subsided when all combustible material was consumed. Approximately 40000 civilian deaths mostly from asphyxiation resulting from lack of oxygen. The raid led to an exodus of over 1.2 million people fearing another raid. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter |