Todd, Oliver William Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Oliver William
Surname Todd
Gender M
Age 32
Date of Death 23-06-1943
Next of Kin Son of Oliver Rupert Todd and Janet Fulton Todd (née Drydon), of Galt, Ontario, Canada.
TODD OW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number JD259
Markings NP-R

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Schoonselhof Cemetery
Grave Reference II. E. 25.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 254
TODD OW

Location

Row -
Panel 254
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 254

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/114310
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 158
Squadron Motto Strength in unity
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Aland, Mechelen (Leest), Antwerpen Province
Country Belgium
Memorial Type Stone pillar & stencilled stone tablets
Memorial Text
Translation "On the night of June 23 1943 Halifax JD259 crashed in these fields killing its crew"
Location St. James of Compostola Church, Lissett, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone & Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Memorial to 158 Sqn, RAF Lissett 28th February 1943 - 17th August 1946
Location St. James of Compostola Church, Lissett, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window & Inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text A stained glass window in memory of 158 Sqn RAF
Location Adjacent to former airfield, Lissett, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Metal Sculpture, Wind Turbines & Info Board
Memorial Text 12 wind turbines named after Halifax Bombers of 158 Sqn and groundcrew who were killed on 2nd July 1943
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Gardens, Propeller, Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text In everlasting homage to the courage of those who have found their winged victory through the skies of Yorkshire
Location Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Propeller Unit & Inscribed Marble Tablets
Memorial Text They made the supreme sacrifice so that you & I may go in peace with freedom. 4 Group 1939 - 1945.
Location Heslington Hall, York, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Heslington Hall 1941 - 1945, 4 Gp Headquarters Bomber Command. In remembrance of those Air & Ground personnel who made the supreme sacrifice that we all may walk in peace with freedom

Miscellaneous Information

Oliver was born on 11 June 1911 at Galt, Ontario. His father was born at York Township and worked as a drill press operator and his mother was born at Galt, Ontario. He had two sisters, Margaret Maisie and Janet Elizabeth. The school he attended was Major Ballachey Public between 1917-1927. The sports he enjoyed were swimming and ball games. Oliver worked for William Paterson, of Brantford, Ontario as a Ship Room clerk 1927-1932 and later for Agnew Surpass, Brantford as a Storekeeper 1932-1934. He then worked in farming at Peace River District, Alberta 1934-1939 and lastly at Massey Harris, Brantford , as a drill press operator 1939-1941.
Oliver enlisted on 18 July 1941 at Hamilton, Ontario. After training he was posted to the U.K. and arrived at 3 PRC on 19 December1942. He then proceeded to 24 OTU 23 February 1943, 1658 CU 24 May 1943 and was then posted missing on 21 June 1943 from 158 squadron. Sadly Oliver was to lose his life from 158 Squadron on 23 June 1943.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1048/35
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1048/35

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
Cavanagh L E (F/S) Died
Elliott D V (F/O) Died
Forster T R (Sgt) Died
Green W R (Sgt) Died
Maund R A C (P/O) Died
Sage R J (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 22-06-1943
End Date 23-06-1943
Takeoff Station Lissett
Day/Night Raid Night (70% moon)
Operation Mülheim. 557 aircraft, 35 losses (6.3%) A thin layer of cloud hampered PFF marking efforts which were, nevertheless accurate (as detailed by the German report on the raid). As a result the bombing was concentrated and devastated this small town. All communications were cut off from Oberhausen, on which Mülheim was dependent for emergency services. 578 deaths and 1135 homes destroyed. A post war British report put the damage at 64% of the town.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed at Leest, 5km west of Mechelen, Belgium
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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.