Trewin, Bertram Alfonso Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Bertram Alfonso
Surname Trewin
Gender M
Age 22
Date of Death 18-04-1944
Next of Kin Son of Edward John Trewin and Florence Evelyn Trewin (née Gormley), of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
TREWIN BA

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number LV946
Markings NP-K

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Grand-Seraucourt British Cemetery
Grave Reference 7. G. 11.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 255
TREWIN BA

Location

Row -
Panel 255
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 255

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/25701
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 158
Squadron Motto Strength in unity
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Rue Marie Luxembourg, D34, Ly-Fontaine, 02 - Aisne Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Memorial stone & inscribed marble tablet
Memorial Text Hommage et reconnaissance de la commune de Ly-Fontaine aux aviateurs Allies tombes le 18 Avril 1944 - Halifax LW522 du 51e Escadron de la RAF – est entré en collision en plein vol avec le Halifax LV964 du 158e Escadron de la RAF
Translation "Tribute and recognition from the commune of Ly-Fontaine to the Allied aviators who fell here on April 18, 1944 – Halifax LW522 of 51 Sqn RAF – collided in mid-air with Halifax LV964 of 158 Sqn RAF"
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

Bertram was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 31 March 1922. His father was born at Truro, Cornwall, England and was a Steward with C.N.R. His mother was deceased by the time of Bertram's enlistment. He had a sister Evelyn and also a brother Kenneth Edward, now overseas. He attended Chebucto Road School, 1928-1937 followed by Bloomfield High school 1938-1939. He also took a bookkeeping correspondence course, 1940-1942 with the Canadian War Legion. His sport interests were hockey, baseball and football and his hobby was photography.
Bertram enlisted on 7 May 1942 at Halifax and after training was posted to the U.K. He embarked from Canada on 23 June 1943, reaching 3 PRC on 2 July 1943. He then proceeded to 10 (0)AFU on 12 July 1943, 23 OTU 17 August 1943, 1663 CU 15 November 1943 and finally 158 Squadron on 24 February 1944. Sadly Bertram was to lose his life on 13 April 1944.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1049/8
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1049/8

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
Brown O M (Sgt) Died
Heyes J (F/S) Died
Hughes W A (F/O) Died
Leaver J A (W/O) Died
Salmond F (F/S) Died
Stakes R (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 18-04-1944
End Date 19-04-1944
Takeoff Station Lissett
Day/Night Raid Night (20% moon)
Operation Tergnier- to bomb railway yards. 171 aircraft, 6 Halifax losses. A large number of railway lines were blocked but most of the bombs fell on residential areas.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Collided in the air with a 51 Sqn Halifax (LW522 NP-K) and crashed at Seraucourt-le-Grand, SW of St Quentin, France
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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.