Cole-Hamilton, Joan Margaret (Civilian)

Killed in Flying Accident 1945-July-04

Civilian Joan Margaret Cole-Hamilton FO

Birth Date: 1917-October-15

Born: Llangattock, Powys, Wales

Parents: Rev Richard Mervyn Cole-Hamilton & Margaret Bennett

Spouse:

Home: Llangattock, Powys, Wales (parents)

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Decorations: MBE

Member of the British Empire

Service

FO

Unit

45 Group (RAF)

Base

Dorval, Quebec

Rank

Civilian

Position

Passenger

Service Numbers

Home
Google MapLlangattock, Powys, Wales (parents)
Richard Mervyn Cole-Hamilton | Joan Margaret Cole-Hamilton | Margaret Cole-Hamilton (from Ancestry.ca - Tara Milne originally shared this on 08 Oct 2020)

Joan Margaret Cole-Hamilton was born in 1917 the daughter of the Rev Richard Mervyn Cole-Hamilton and Margaret Bennett, at Llangattock, Breconshire (now Powys, Wales).

Joan Margaret Cole-Hamilton was posted to Norway in 1939 and was awarded the MBE (October 1941) for services during the evacuation of Norway.

She went to Moscow with the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Eden in 1942. She also attended the Dumbarton Oaks conference. Sydney Morning Herald, July 1945

She died while returning to Britain on a Liberator Transport from Dorval, Quebec. She was part of an entourage attending a United Nations Conference in San Francisco, USA.

Very little is known about Miss Cole-Hamilton's work. As Acting Clerical Officer for the Foreign Office during the war, her specific work would have been secret

Wikipedia Dumbarton Oaks Conference (Establishing of the United Nations)

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

www.findagrave.com

Crew or Other Personnel

Liberator JT982

Colonel Denis Cuthbert Capel-Dunn MD

Colonel Capel-Dunn, Denis Cuthbert (MD)
Passenger
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian Joan Margaret Cole-Hamilton FO

Civilian Cole-Hamilton, Joan Margaret (FO)
Passenger
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian Agnes Mary Collard FO

Civilian Collard, Agnes Mary (FO)
Passenger
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian George Peter Evans RAF

Civilian Evans, George Peter (RAF)
Pilot (Captain)
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian Beryl Jean Hibberd IO

Civilian Hibberd, Beryl Jean (IO)
Passenger
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
Sea Burial

Leading Aircraftman William Thomas Keates RAFVR

Leading Aircraftman Keates, William Thomas (RAFVR)
Flight Clerk
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
Runnymede Memorial Surrey, UK

Civilian Sir Herbert William Malkin FO

Civilian Malkin, Sir Herbert William (FO)
Passenger
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian Cyril Paul Joseph Meagher RAF

Civilian Meagher, Cyril Paul Joseph (RAF)
Radio Officer
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
Ottawa War Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Flying Officer Roy Holden Marshall Patterson RCAF

Flying Officer Patterson, Roy Holden Marshall (RCAF)
Navigator
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
Ottawa War Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Civilian Roland Tennyson Peel IO

Civilian Peel, Roland Tennyson (IO)
Passenger
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian John Weldy Ross RAF

Civilian Ross, John Weldy (RAF)
Pilot/1st Officer
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian Mabel Jane Clarkson Scupham FO

Civilian Scupham, Mabel Jane Clarkson (FO)
Passenger
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian Doreen Elizabeth Smith FO

Civilian Smith, Doreen Elizabeth (FO)
Passenger
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian Phyllis Mabel Spurway Cabinet

Civilian Spurway, Phyllis Mabel (Cabinet)
Passenger
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Civilian Gayle Burton Swaney RAF

Civilian Swaney, Gayle Burton (RAF)
Flight Engineer
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-July-04
cemetery unknown

Accident Card - Consolidated Liberator C lX serial:JT982

This accident involved 1 aircraft on 1945-July-04. Liberator s/n JT982.

This accident involved 14 people. Cole-Hamilton, Dunn C, Evans GP, Hibbard, Keates WT, Malkin W, Meagher CPJ, Patterson RHM, Peel W, Ross JW, Scupham, Spurway , Swaney GB, Tollard

This accident had 15 fatalities. Civilian George Peter Evans RAF Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian Agnes Mary Collard FO Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian Beryl Jean Hibberd IO Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Colonel Denis Cuthbert Capel-Dunn MD Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian Mabel Jane Clarkson Scupham FO Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Leading Aircraftman William Thomas Keates RAFVR Killed in Flying Accident service no:1228818 Liberator JT982, Civilian Roland Tennyson Peel IO Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian John Weldy Ross RAF Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian Sir Herbert William Malkin FO Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian Joan Margaret Cole-Hamilton FO Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian Cyril Paul Joseph Meagher RAF Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian Gayle Burton Swaney RAF Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian Phyllis Mabel Spurway Cabinet Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Civilian Doreen Elizabeth Smith FO Killed in Flying Accident service no: Liberator JT982, Flying Officer Roy Holden Marshall Patterson RCAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:J/39901 Liberator JT982

Mission

Liberator C lX JT982

Transport 1945-July-03 to 1945-July-04

45 (T) Group (RAF) Dorval, Quebec

45 Group RAF Transport Command, Dorval, Quebec. Liberator C IX aircraft JT982, operated by a mixed crew of civilian and 231 Squadron aircrew, was scheduled for a flight from Washington DC USA to Northolt, England with stopovers in Dorval, Gander, Keflavik and Prestwick. The aircraft departed RCAF Gander on July 4, 1945 on the leg to Keflavik with a crew of 6 and 9 VIP passengers including several women, when the Liberator ditched in the North Atlantic, believed due to the elevator becoming jammed. An intensive two week air and sea search was carried out, during which a second, RCAF Liberator 595 was lost in the Atlantic, but no trace of the aircraft, crew or passengers of Liberator JT982 were found

Passengers:

  • Sir Herbert William Malkin GCMG, CB, KC, Legal Adviser to Foreign Office -Age 62
  • Colonel Denis Cuthbert Capel-Dunn OBE, Ministry of Defense (MI5) - Age 41
  • Mr Roland Tennyson Peel COBE MC, India Office - Age 52
  • Miss Mabel Jane Clarkson Scupham, Foreign Office - Aged 40
  • Miss Joan Margaret Cole-Hamilton MBE, Foreign Office - Age 40
  • Miss Doreen A Smith, Foreign Office - Aged 20
  • Miss Agnes Mary Collard, Foreign Office - Age 29
  • Miss Beryl Hibberd, India Office - Age 23
  • Miss Phyllis Mabel Spurway, Cabinet Office - Aged 35

    • Crew:

  • Captain George Peter Evans (pilot) United States civilian
  • (Captain) John Weldy Ross (co-pilot) United States civilian
  • Cyril Paul Joseph Meagher (radio operator) Canadian civilian
  • Gayle Burton Swaney Flight Engineer, Canadian civilian
  • Flying Officer Roy Holden Marshall Patterson navigator, (RCAF), 231 Squadron
  • Sergeant William Thomas Keates, flight clerk (RAFVR), 231 Squadron

    • Ocean Bridge, The History of RAF Ferry Command by Carl A Christie pages 132, 135-9, 217,259,329

    The Liberator in Royal air Force and Commonwealth Service by James D Oughton with John Hamlin and Andrew Thomas

    unvetted Source [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

    unvetted Source Aviation Safety Network

    unvetted Source Keflavik I Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

    Liberator serial: JT982

    (DND Photos via James Craik) (Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)
    Consolidated Liberator G.R. Mk. VIII, RCAF (Serial No. 11130) ex-USAAF Consolidated (Vultee) B-24L Liberator USAAF (44-50154)
    ex-RAF (Serial No. 5009), ex-Indian Air Force (Serial No. HE773).
    Currently preserved in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum Ottawa Ontario.

    The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber flown by the RCAF during the Second Word War. It was designed with a shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing which gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries the B-24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor low speed performance; it also had a lower ceiling compared with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Of the roughly 18,500 B-24s built in the USA during the war, 148 were flown by the RCAF on long range anti-submarine patrols, with the B-24 serving an instrumental role in closing the Mid-Atlantic gap in the Battle of the Atlantic. The RCAF also flew a few B-24s post war as transports.

    Roughly half of all (RAF) Liberator crews in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre were Canadian by the end of the war. John Muir of Vancouver flew the longest mission of the war: 24hrs, 10mins from Ceylon to Burma and back. (Kyle Hood) Harold Skaarup web page


    YouTube Liberator bomber

    Wikipedia Wikipedia Liberator bomber

    unvetted Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page

    Aircraft Images

    Liberator JT982

    Liberator C lX JT982

    {{storedairimage,LiberatorJT982.jpg,float:right;width:500px;margin-left:10px,London Evening Standard July 6 1945}}

    An RAF Ferry Command C.IX Liberator, JT982 of 231 Squadron, was scheduled for a Washington, Dorval, Gander, Keflavik, Prestwick, and Northolt flight itinerary. The aircraft departed RCAF Gander on July 4, 1945 on the leg to Keflavik with a crew of 4 and 11 VIP passengers including several women. While enroute towards Keflavik, the Liberator ditched in the North Atlantic apparently due to the elevator becoming jammed. Although an intensive two week air and sea search was carried out, no trace of the aircraft or crew and passengers were ever found from the missing Liberator.


    1945-July-04 Accident: 45 GROUP Loc: Missing Names: Cole-Hamilton | Dunn | Evans | Hibbard | Keates | Malkin | Meagher | Patterson | Peel | Ross | Scupham | Spurway | Swaney | Tollard

    Supplemental Story

    Both WW1 and WW2 exapnded the roles of women. Women also continued in traditional roles, those roles were more highly valued.

    1. These videos describe the exapnding role for women in both wars, as well as expand on the tradional roles in war time.

      YouTube Women at War World War 1 (York University 6:44)

      YouTube World War II Women (3:22)

    2. In 1941-1942 the Women's Division was official added to the RCAF. It was mostly a measure to free up man for combat. However many women had very distinguished service records.

      Museum RCAF Women's Division from Juno Beach Centre

      Wikipedia RCAF Women's Division

      YouTube RCAF Women's Division in Britain (1:43)

      Museum Olive E. Creasor Collection

    3. Web Image
      Elsie MacGill, first women Aerospace Engineer, was also a comic book hero.
      Elsie MacGill, "Queen of the Hurricanes".

      YouTube Queen of the Hurricanes (1:00)

      YouTube Elsie MacGill, Queen of the Hurricanes (5:29)

      Canada Source Roberta Bondar on Elsie MacGill

      Canada Source Elsie MacGill Comic Book story from WW2

    4. Special Military Roles of Women in Canada

      YouTube Canadian Women Codebreakers (11:43)

      YouTube Canadian Women in Air Transport Auxiliary (3:33)

    5. Women Pilots in Canada

      Today woman pilots in Canada are too numerous to mention, but that has not always been the case. These are some of women who pioneered the change in women's roles in flying.

      unvetted Source Canadian Woman Pilots Through the Years