Ward, John Langmead Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) John Langmead
Surname Ward
Gender M
Age 20
Date of Death 28-02-1943
Next of Kin Son of George Lewis Ward and Lillie May Ward (née Distin), of Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada.
WARD JL

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington III
Serial Number BK343
Markings ZL-V

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place Pornic War Cemetery
Grave Reference 1. G. 3.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 259
WARD JL

Location

Row -
Panel 259
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 259

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/115679
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 427 (Lion)
Squadron Motto Ferte manus certas (Strike sure)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Ward Bay, Saskatchewan
Country Canada
Memorial Type Bay
Memorial Text
Location Race Control Building, Croft Auto Circuit, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF
Location Roadside Location, A167, Dalton on Tees, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Memorial topped with metal statue
Memorial Text In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF
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

John was born on 29 July 1922 at Battleford, Saskatchewan. His father was born at Hastings, Ontario and worked as a Caretaker of Battleford Womens' Jail and his mother was born in Montreal, Quebec. The school he attended were Battleford Public, 1929-1938, followed by Battleford Collegiate 1938-1941 (Matric Course). Other training had been with “B” Company, B.L.I., Battleford. He was a Lance Corporal 1939-1941. The sports he was interested in were skating, curling, baseball and hockey.
John enlisted on 23 July 1941 and after training was posted to the U.K. He embarked from Canada on 30 April 1942, arriving at 3 PRC on 13 May. He then proceeded to 3 AGS 29 June 1942, 14 OTU 11 August 1942, 102 C.F.25 November 1942, and 427 Squadron 26 November 1942. Sadly John lost his life on 28 February 1943.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1845/8
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1845/8

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
Ferguson D A (F/S) Died
Hartney W D (WO2) Died
Kilpatrick J A (F/S) Died
Radford R W (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-02-1943
End Date 01-03-1943
Takeoff Station Croft
Day/Night Raid Night (36% moon)
Operation St. Nazaire. With the Lorient U-boat facility destroyed, attention turned to the second base, St. Nazaire. 437 aircraft, 5 losses (1.1%). Widespread destruction of the target with local reports saying that 60% of the city was destroyed. Few killed or injured, indicating that many must have fled the town before the raid.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Believed to have crashed into the sea off Belle Ile, 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.