Turner, Benjamin Warren Died

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Benjamin Warren
Surname Turner
Gender M
Age 23
Date of Death 21-02-1943
Next of Kin Son of Ben Turner and Charlotte Turner (née Reeves), of Georgetown Township, Indiana, USA.
TURNER BW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number DT633
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Boldre (St. John) Churchyard
Grave Reference Row 3. Grave 4.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 256
TURNER BW

Location

Row -
Panel 256
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 256

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/109798
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 405 (Vancouver)
Squadron Motto Duicmus (We lead)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin United States of America

Other Memorials

Location Adjacent to Village Windmill, Mill Rd, Great Gransden, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone with inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Remembering 405 (Vancouver) Sqn. PFF at Gransden Lodge 1942 - 1945
Location St. Bartholomew's Church, Great Gransden, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window, RoH and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text Commemorating the 801 airmen of 405 Sqn. RCAF who gave their lives 1941 - 1945
Location Pocklington Gliding Club, Pocklington Airfield, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Marble Pillar and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text In memory of 102 (Ceylon) and 405 (Vancouver) Sqns. Pocklington Airfield
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

On loan to Coastal Command at the time
Benjamin was born on 4 August 1919 at Georgetown Township, Indiana, USA. Both parents were born in New Albany, Indiana and his father worked as a railway engineer. He had one brother, Stewart Reeves Turner. He attended S. Ellen Jones Elementary School, New Albany 1925-1932 followed by New Albany High, 1933-1937. Between 1940-1941 Benjamin then studied Academics at High School in Freeport, Illinois. For sport he enjoyed football, wrestling, basketball and tennis. He also liked to design and build model aircraft. During the summers of 1933-1937 Ben worked as a clerk on Saturdays (while still at school). Between 1938 and 1940 he had a variety of jobs including a Salesman at Singer Sewing Machine, a clerk at a Supermarket and as a pipe fitters helper, where he spent three months in 1940. He then enlisted on 19 July 1941.
After training he was posted to the U.K.embarking from Canada on 25 September and arrived at PRC on 9 October 1942. He then proceeded to 1659 CU on 28 October 1942 and 405 Sqn. on 16 January 1943. Sadly Benjamin then lost his life the following month on 21 February 1943.

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
Hart W J (Sgt) Died
McLean R V (Sgt) Died
O'Donohoe F J (F/S) Died
Parker B F J (F/S) Died
Sellar E H (F/S) Died
Shagena C J (F/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 21-02-1943
End Date 21-02-1943
Takeoff Station Beaulieu
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Sea patrol
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed one and a half miles north east of RAF Beaulieu
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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.