Wood, Keith Robertson Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Keith Robertson
Surname Wood
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 26-06-1943
Next of Kin Adopted son of William Robertson Wood and Margaret Matilda Wood (née Workman), of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
WOOD KR 595

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number JD261
Markings MH-J

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery
Grave Reference XV. F. 5.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 268
WOOD KR 595

Location

Row -
Panel 268
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 268

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/91595
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 51
Squadron Motto Swift and sure
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Wood Creek, Manitoba; Within Caribou River Park Reserve
Country Canada
Memorial Type Creek
Memorial Text
Location RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Monument, Bench & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In memory of the airmen of R.A.F. 51 Sqn. (687) and 150 Sqn. (205) between 1941 - 1945
Location Village Hall, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque on external wall
Memorial Text 51 Sqn RAF Snaith Oct 1942 - Apr 1945
Location St. John the Baptist Church, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Sqn Crest & Roll of Honour
Memorial Text 51 Sqn Roll of Honour
Location RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Monument, Multiple Inscribed Metal Plaques, Propeller Unit
Memorial Text In memory of the 687 airmen of 51 Sqn, 4 Gp, Bomber Command who lost their lives flying Halifax bombers Mks 2 and 3 at RAF Snaith between October 1942 and April 1945
Location Stn Church, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Roll of Honour in Wooden Case
Memorial Text Roll of Honour of 51 Sqn
Location Grounds of Selby Abbey, Selby, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone
Memorial Text 51 Sqn RAF. In proud and undying memory of all ranks killed or missing 1939 - 1945
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

Keith was born on 19 September 1921 in Vancouver, British Columbi. His natural father was born in Orkney, Scotland and was the Secretary of the Manitoba Federation of Agriculture and sadly died in 1947 after a tragic fall. His natural mother was born in Arthur, Ontario. He had a sister Rhoda Marguerite who was a teacher and also died in 1947 (born 1906). He attended the Austin school in Manitoba 1929-1935, followed by Gordon Bell High School 1936-1939 (Matric grade 11). Between 1937-38 he also studied metal work and mechanical drawing at Kelvin Technical High. His sport interests were swimming, baseball and tennis but he also enjoyed photography, camping and Scout work. Between 1937-1940 Keith worked as a delivery clerk at McKnight’s Drug Store in Winnipeg.
Keith enlisted on 21 January 1941 and after training embarked for the U.K. on 27 October 1942 arriving at 3PRC on 5 November. He then went on to 10 OTU 8 December 1942, 1658 CU 13 April 1943, and 51 Squadron on 16 May 1943. Sadly Keith lost his life the following month on 26 June 1943.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/492/30
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/492/30

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
Davis D H V (F/O) Died
Fairmaner A W (Sgt) Died
Hawes A H (Sgt) Died
Howse D G (F/O) Died
McFarlane A D (Sgt) Died
Roberts J (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 25-06-1943
End Date 26-06-1943
Takeoff Station Snaith
Day/Night Raid Night (38% moon)
Operation Gelsenkirchen. 473 aircraft, 30 losses (6.3%). The first raid in around two years on this Ruhr town. Cloud cover and unserviceable Oboe equipment in 5 of the 12 Mosquitoes meant that the target was not well marked. As a result the local report puts the number of buildings destroyed at just 24. 16 deaths on the ground. Some nearby towns were hit in error, particularly Solingen with more people being killed there than in Gelsenkirchen itself. A good illustration of the dependency on PFF marking for raid success.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed east of Uden, Holland
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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.