Rawson, Byron Frederick Norman Died

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Personal Information

Rank W/C
Forename(s) Byron Frederick Norman
Surname Rawson
Gender M
Age 23
Decorations DFC*
Date of Death 23-12-1945
Next of Kin Son of the Reverend Norman Rawson and May Maud Rawson (nee Sexton), of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
RAWSON BFN

Aircraft Information

Aircraft
Serial Number
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Canada
Burial/Memorial Place Hamilton (Woodland) Cemetery
Grave Reference Sec. 23. West half. Lot 25. Grave 1.
Epitaph A BRAVE WARRIOR A SON OF CHRIST

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase SP
Panel Number 272 (not yet erected on site)

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/10982
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Squadron 405 (Vancouver)
Squadron Motto Duicmus (We lead)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

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

Miscellaneous Information

With thanks to yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk for this fine eulogy: "The few lines written here cannot fully express what a brilliant young man, officer, tactician and leader Byron Rawson was. He rose to become the youngest ever RCAF Wing Commander at the age of twenty one years old and became commanding officer of No.8 Group's Pathfinder Wing. In total he completed fifty three operational flights. He was born on 3rd December 1922 in Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario and attended McMaster University, Hamilton prior to enlisting in May 1941 aged eighteen. He completed his initial training and graduated with distinction and was commissioned the following year just after gaining his Wings in April 1942. On arrival in the UK he was posted to 6(P)AFU and in September 1942 to 22 OTU. He rose to F/O in December 1942 and was posted to 429 Squadron. On 17th April 1943 he was the pilot of Wellington HF912 which was tasked with Ops to Mannheim, he landed at Wattisham on return but the aircraft overshot and was damaged. F/O Rawson received slight injuries as a result but was soon back flying again. Rawson was promoted to F/Lt the day after this incident. His time at 429 Squadron was broken with a spell at a tactics school for Bomber Command but he returned to 429 Squadron to complete his Tour. For his service with 429 Squadron he was awarded the DFC, the notification appeared in the London Gazette on 15th October 1943. He received his DFC in August 1944 and was presented by King George VI. The citation reads: 'Flight Lieutenant Rawson has taken part in operations against the enemy on some of the most heavily defended targets in Germany. As acting Flight Commander and captain of aircraft, he has at all times set a fine example of courage, enthusiasm and devotion to duty.' After completing his first Tour he was posted as a Tactics Officer to 6 Group Headquarters in January 1944 for a "rest" from operational flying but he managed to get in five operational trips while carrying out this duty. It is known that he flew to Boulogne as second pilot in a daylight raid on the day after D-Day in June 1944 and later to the Ruhr Valley in a second daylight attack. He was later posted to become Operations Officer at 6 Group Headquarters and was promoted to Acting W/Co. He later posted as operational commander of 8 Group Pathfinder Wing and a posting to 405 Squadron which he commanded. He flew his fifty third operational flight on 19th April 1945 and for his work with the Pathfinders he awarded the Bar to the DFC, Gazetted on 21st September 1945, the citation for this award reads: 'This officer has now completed his second tour of operations, participating in attacks against major targets in Germany and occupied territory. By his courage and determination to press home his attacks, despite enemy opposition, he has contributed highly to the success of the squadron. Since the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Wing Commander Rawson has continued to set a splendid example of skill and devotion to duty.' He returned home to Canada soon after the end of the War to his native Hamilton and enrolled at Osgoode Hall, Toronto to study law in Autumn 1945. Although he should have already have held a degree to gain admission his was waived in his case. In the months that followed his return home his mental health became affected and he suffered a nervous breakdown. He took his own life just weeks after his twenty third birthday on 23rd December 1945. Of note is that one of the Pallbearers at his funeral service was F/Lt Jack Kerr; who was with him for many of his operational flights with 429 Squadron. His Bar to the DFC was presented to his mother at Government House, Ottawa in 1948. His father Rev.Capt. Norman Rawson had first served in WW1 and had also served in WW2, in 1944 he was in the UK and met with his son on an offical trip to 6 Group Headquarters. On the same trip after D-Day he spent time in Northern France with Canadian troops. He returned to Canada and his Ministry by the end of 1944.
The coroner comment that he suffered a "Failure to completely recover from intensive duties and responsibilities of his war experience."
He had flown 53 ops.
He was finally granted a CWGC headstone on 22 September 2018

Last Operation Information

Start Date -
End Date -
Reason for Aircraft Loss Suffered mental health issues after his return to Canada and took his own life.
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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.