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  1. #1

    Default Research MIA Canada

    Hello,
    My daughter attends Elementary School here in Toronto Canada. In the foyer of her school is a seldom looked at memorial to those alumni who served in Canadian Forces during WW2. It lists them alphebetically with an asterix beside those who were killed. Only one tne of the men, Harold Black, is marked as "missing."
    I thought It would be an interesting project for my daughter (10) and I, to try to find out what happened to Harold Black. Things have not been as simple as I would have imagined, War Records are mostly sealed and unobtainable as non-family. Of course I have found many H Blacks information on here but no reference to a Canadian who was MIA.
    I may well have thrown myself into deep water here but I do not want to set a poor example to my child of quitting so early into research.
    Any good advice would be appreciated.
    Thank you.

  2. #2
    Famous for offering help & advice peter nicholl's Avatar
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    Hi and welcome to the Forum. If you go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website https://www.cwgc.org and search for 2nd WW deaths,there is only one Canadian death and that's for Warrant Officer Class II BLACK, HARRY GORDON Royal Canadian Air Force. Service Number R/62820 Died 08/02/1943 Aged 20, 44 (Rhodesia) Sqdn. Son of Henry Black and Lydia Florence Black, of Arvida, Province of Quebec, Canada. He is remembered on the RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL, hence Missing in Action. 44 Squadron were based at RAF Waddington at the time he was killed.
    Peter Nicholl
    Researching:Nicholl,Boater, Haselgrove & Vaughan

  3. #3

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    Hello Peter and thanks so much.

    I'm going to have to dig deeper into local records to find out more. The school is a primary so he may well have moved from Toronto before the war. I haven't found his name on any of the local high school memorials so that's a possibility.

    I'm not sure when this roll of honour was put together but surely he would not still have been declared "missing" several years after the war.

    It's* all so intriguing and I really appreciate your prompt assistance in trying to solve the puzzle. A great way for young people to learn about the war, it's magnitude and it's effects on ordinary people.

    Regards,
    Howard.

  4. #4
    Super Moderator - Completely bonkers and will never change.
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    My feeling is that someone would be classed as MIA if no body was found. If Harry's plane had gone into the sea then it's quite possible that that would be the case.

    One of our mods, Lesley, is quite good on RAF stuff so hopefully she will see this and be able to help.

    Pam
    Vulcan XH558 - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

  5. #5
    Famous for offering help & advice peter nicholl's Avatar
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    If this is the right chap, then he and the rest of the crew of 44 Squadron's Mk I Lancaster Serial # ED309, Code KM-S, were lost on a mining operation, presumably at sea.
    Peter Nicholl
    Researching:Nicholl,Boater, Haselgrove & Vaughan

  6. #6
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    Our surmise that Harry died at sea seems borne out by this.
    https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/rememb...Gordon%20Black

    Interestingly that says his unit was the Royal Canadian Air Force, so there's a possibility that his records may be with the Canadian authorities. (Five minutes later ....) Yes, they are.
    https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discove...venName=harry&
    The files are available on Ancestry.com and make fascinating reading. Physical description, hobbies, equipment he was issued with, references, letters to and from his parents to the RAF/RCAF - totally amazing.
    He went to Riverbend Intermediate (primary) school, and then Arvida Intermediate School (high school).
    There's 42 pages in all, and from what I read you should be able to access them for free.
    https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discove...ar-dead.aspx#e
    Scroll down to 'how to obtain copies or consult a file'

    Runnymede memorial.
    https://www.cwgc.org/find/find-cemet...ymede-memorial

    Pam
    Vulcan XH558 - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

  7. #7

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    You called, Pam?

    As yet, I can't add much to what has gone before, except that if he was flying in a Lanc, his plane did not go down over the Dutch part of the North Sea - the Register of Losses (Verliesregister) shows that on 8 Feb 1943 there were only 2, both Spitfires.

    PS "Mining" in this context means that they were laying mines...

  8. #8

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    Wow Pam, you're so much better at this than me.
    I've been trying to find a connection between the tiny Aluminium producing* town in Northern Quebec with Toronto.
    I haven't looked at the Ancestry link yet but this might not be the same person in the memorial at my daughters school. Seen here.

    https://torontofamilyhistory.org/king...ls.php?id=6318

    Thanks so much Pam, this is really an engaging mystery.

  9. #9

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    I Googled on the serial number that Peter found, and one of the sites it took me to was Aircrew Remembered. I searched their Lost Bombers database on the plane's serial number and it took me to a table HERE showing the whole crew. The mission was called Lorient, maybe a search on that would give more info.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Expat61 View Post
    Wow Pam, you're so much better at this than me.
    I've been trying to find a connection between the tiny Aluminium producing* town in Northern Quebec with Toronto.
    I haven't looked at the Ancestry link yet but this might not be the same person in the memorial at my daughters school. Seen here.

    https://torontofamilyhistory.org/king...ls.php?id=6318

    Thanks so much Pam, this is really an engaging mystery.
    Reading the school name, I'm 100% convinced it's not the same person. :cry:
    I blame Peter for finding Harry and leading us to assume that Harold was Harry. (Peter is no longer on my Christmas card list.)

    Pam
    Vulcan XH558 - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

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