Tedford, Bernard Laird Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Bernard Laird
Surname Tedford
Gender M
Age 23
Date of Death 13-06-1943
Next of Kin Son of Laird Tedford and Blanche Martha Tedford (née Feltmate), of Montreal, Québec, Canada.
TEDFORD BL

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax V
Serial Number DK183
Markings ZL-

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Texel (Den Burg) Cemetery
Grave Reference Plot K. Row 3. Grave 52.
Epitaph THAT UNSELFISH LIFE, IT HAS NOT DIED

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 252
TEDFORD BL

Location

Row -
Panel 252
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 252

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/17609
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 427 (Lion)
Squadron Motto Ferte manus certas (Strike sure)
Trade WOp/AG
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Pontweg 15, Texel (Den Horn), Noord-Holland Province
Country the Netherlands
Memorial Type Memorial stone, stencilled composite information plaque and information board
Memorial Text Den Hoorn, Prins Hendrikpolder. Op deze plats stortte in de nacht van 12 op 13 Juni 1943 om 02. 13 uur een bommenwerper neer van het type Halifax met registratie DK183 ZL-S. Er waren 7 bemanningsleden. Van de 7 bemanningsleden overleefden er 4 de crash en werden krijgsgevangen gemaakt. Het enige Engelse bemanningslid, J. Imms, is gevangen genomen en schiint hierbij in zin buik te zin geschoten. Korte tijd later overleed hij.
Translation "Den Horn, Prince Hendrikpolder. On the night of 12 to 13 June 1943 at 02:13 a Halifax bomber registration DK183 ZL-S crashed on this spot. There were 7 crew members. Of the 7 crew members, 4 survived the crash and were made prisoners of war. The only English crew member, J. Imms, has been captured and appears to have been shot in the stomach. A short time later he died"
Location Roman Rd, Leeming, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brass plaque set into a stone plinth into which is carved with the Canadian maple leaf and the Yorkshire rose.
Memorial Text This memorial is dedicated to those men and women who served at RAF Leeming during World War II, including those from the Royal Canadian Air Force Squadrons, whose members came from all parts of the Commonwealth from 1942 to 1945; 405 Vancouver, 408 Goose, 419 Moose, 427 Lion, 429 Bison. Also, to the many Civilians who supported them during their term of duty in North Yorkshire. We remember too the RAF Squadrons who preceded the Canadians from 1940 - 1942; 7 - 10 - 35 -77 - 102 - 219. To those who paid the supreme sacrifice, we will remember them. Dedicated June 19, 1993
Location Opposite old Main Guardroom, RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Memorial & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In commemoration of those men and women of many nations who served at RAF Leeming during the second world war.
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

Bernard was born on 28 August 1919) at Montreal, Québec. His father was a Kraft Salesman (and was deceased by the time of Bernard's enlistment) and was born in Montreal. His mother was born in Nova Scotia, and was also deceased. He had a married sister Christine. The school he attended was Ford School at Dufferin, Ontario, 1927-1933 followed by a Correspondence Course, 1933-1935. The sports he joined in were handball and baseball. Bernard worked in Toronto as a mechanics help in a garage, 1936-1938, as a garage attendant for two years, as a painter’s apprentice for one year and then as a saw and machine operator.
He then enlisted on 4 June 1941 and after training was posted to the U.K. After embarking from Canada he arrived at 3 PRC on 13 May 1942 and then at 4 SS on 5 June 1942, 22 OTU 7 July 1942, 419 Squadron 30 September 1942, 427 Sqn 17 November 1942, 1659 CU 19 April 1943. Sadly Bernard then went missing on 13 June 1943. The aircraft crashed on Texel Island where he is buried.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1845/16
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1845/16

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
Dalton G W R (P/O) Died
Dixon A (Sgt) Died
Imms J (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 12-06-1943
End Date 13-06-1943
Takeoff Station Leeming
Day/Night Raid Night (69% moon)
Operation Bochum. 503 aircraft, 24 losses (4.8%). Complete cloud cover but accurate Oboe sky-marking leading to very good bombing results. 130 acres of destruction had been wreaked. 449 buildings destroyed and 312 deaths.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed into the sea off Texel
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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.