Back in the
summer of 2018 I had the great privilege of being invited to research and
contribute to a book about the casualties from WWII RAF/RCAF Greenwood, located
in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. During WWII the base was used for
training pilots and aircrew as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training
Plan (BCATP). At the time various aircraft flew out of Greenwood, including Hurricanes,
Air Speed Oxfords, Bristol Bolingbroke, Ansons, Mosquitos and Lockheed Hudsons.
During the
war 59 Commonwealth airmen and crew were killed at Greenwood …
Royal
Canadian Air Force ~ 23
Royal Air
Force ~ 22
Royal
Australian Airforce ~ 8
Royal New
Zealand Air Force ~ 6
The book
which was published during the fall of 2018 is titled ~ “The Lost Voices of
WWII RAF/RCAF Greenwood”. It covers in great detail all the incidents, aircraft
and locations that resulted in the deaths and is fully dedicated to the "lost" 59.
More about
the book and be read at my blog also titled ~ “The Lost Voices of WWII RAF/RCAF Greenwood”,
click on the image or the link below …
https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-lost-voices-of-rafrcaf-greenwood_29.html
Today with
my buddy Alan, I went to visit the wreckage of one of the fatal incidents. It
was a RAF de Havilland DH-98 Mosquito, registration number KB126, which crashed
on 20 April, 1944. The accident report stated ~ "Took off
for Night training flight /sector recco and searchlight practice." The crash site is located in thick forest and bush 12 miles
south of Bridgetown (Nova Scotia). To get to the site involved driving on very
rough gravel and mud covered logging roads ....
The two casualties of this incident both came from Liverpool, England ~
Pilot
Officer, James Gerald Brown, Service Number: 163982, aged 20
Royal Air
Force Volunteer Reserve
Son of
James and Martha Julia Brown of Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England.
and
Flying
Officer Hugh Edward McCann, Service Number: 149386, aged 20
Royal Air
Force Volunteer Reserve
Son of Hugh
and Edith Annie McCann, of Aigburth, Liverpool, England. His brother George
also died in service.
James
Gerald Brown is buried at Middleton Old Holy Trinity Cemetery, Middleton, Nova
Scotia.
Hugh Edward
McCann is buried at Kingston St. Lawrence Roman Catholic Cemetery, Kingston,
Nova Scotia.
Below are the photos I took of the scattered
crash site. The ground was very wet and boggy, much care had to be taken not to
be suddenly ankle deep in water and mud, which I unfortunately failed to do. Due
to the swampy conditions, I suspect much more of the heavier wreckage, such as
the wheels, major load bearing structures and the two engines lie deep below
the surface
Although
the two airmen were recovered and buried locally, like all such military crash
sites and sunken naval ships, the location is regarded as a war grave and
therefore must be respected and treated as such, no parts of the wrecked should ever be removed.
Back in
June of this year, I made a visit to the town of Wuustwezel in Belgium, to the
exact location where a relative of mine was killed in October, 1944. I said in
a blog about that experience ~
"Today
almost 80 years after his death, I made a contemplative visit to the exact
location where Hugh was killed, at the intersection of Bann and Kalmthoutse
Steenweg, in the town of Wuustwezel. I cannot accurately describe my feelings,
it was certainly a very emotional experience, where my thoughts connected more
with the past than the present. As I stood at the location with cars passing,
folks walking along by the road side and everyday life going on in presumably a
normal way, I attempted to bridge the eight decades and go back to that Friday afternoon
of October 21st, 1944. The contrast between the ferocity, the hell and the
death of that day to this one, a bright peaceful summer’s day, is no doubt
enormous." ~
Today at this
crash site, my thoughts went back the same eight decades to April 1944, when in
Liverpool, England, the parents of two young men received the standard
telegram, telling them of the tragic deaths of their sons. They were not flying
over occupied territory in Europe where it was somewhat expected that they may
not return, they instead were learning their trade an ocean away in Nova
Scotia, where they fully expected to return home ~ I cannot begin to imagine
how both families suffered over this tragic loss.
As I always
do at such locations, I left a poppy at the crash site as my own personal thanks
to James Gerald Brown and Hugh Edward McCann, may they rest in eternal peace.
During June 2020, almost two
years after the “Lost Voices…” book was published, I was invited to
the annual Decoration of the Graves ceremony at Old Holy Trinity Church in
Middleton, the location of twenty four Commonwealth War Graves Commission
(CWGC) graves from WWII RAF/RCAF Greenwood, including James Gerald Brown. I was asked to recite the poem "High Flight" and then read the Honour RolI, after which I placed
a single rose on each grave and then did the same at St Lawrence Roman Catholic
Cemetery, in nearby Kingston, where Hugh Edward McCann is buried along with six
other Commonwealth casualties.
For more of this, see my blog
titled ~ “Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth ..” at …
https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2020/06/oh-i-have-slipped-surly-bonds-of-earth.html
Back in
early 2014, I did some research into one of many WWII crashes in Gander,
Newfoundland, where a crew of four were killed. As part of RAF Ferry Command, they
had been tasked with the delivery of a newly manufactured Lockheed Hudson Mk VI
(Serial No. FK690) to Britain. Their fateful flight took off from RCAF Station
Gander at 3.51am on Sunday 6th December 1942, but unfortunately instantly
crashed. The official accident reports states ~ “the aircraft stalled
immediately after takeoff and crashed in flames, killing all aboard.”
During June
2014. I made a visit to their graves in Gander, Newfoundland, more can be read
about this in my blog ~ “WWII RAF Ferry Command, Newfoundland”
https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2020/11/wwii-raf-ferry-command-newfoundland.html
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission documents for both James Gerald Brown and Hugh Edward McCann ~
