Giles James Daniel Kerswill DFC Rank: Warrant Officer 2 Status: Killed in Action 1942-12-15

ABOUT
CASPIR Data Archive Mission & Data Sources Significant Canadian Historians Our Team RCAF Assistance CASPIR Volunteering
CASPIR contains documents, images and history of Canada's military aviation. The personnel and aircraft data has been compiled using data provided by trusted Canadian military aviation historians and original source documents. Where possible source documents are linked.
RESEARCH
CASPIR Resources
RCAF Accident Cards (1939-1945)JA Griffin Documents 1968 and 2005 Obtaining a World War II Service File
External Resources
RCAF.info: Research Resources RCAF.info: Finding Your Family Records
Griffin Library, 17 Wing Winnipeg
John Griffin was a significant historian, documenting Canada's Military aircraft
AIRCRAFT
Military Aircraft Associated with Canadians Choose a Specific Aircraft Serial
Lancaster FM213
CWHM flies one of the two airworthy Lancasters in the world. FM213 is usually marked as KB726 honouring Andrew Mynarski, VC.
PERSONNEL
Name or Home Town Search Unit (Squadron) Search Aircraft Type or Serial Search Browse by Letter This Day in History Choose a Day in History
Prisoner of War Evaded Capture Interned in a Neutral Country Catastrophic Losses (Ships Hotels Aircraft)Choose Specific Military Cemeteries (WW1 WW2 and Beyond)
Andrew Mynarski, VC
We Shall Remember Them.
HISTORY
✅ Start Here ✅ Glossary ✅ Canada and World War II ✅ Combatants & First Airmen Casualties ✅ Air Force Operations ✅ Battle of Britain ✅ Women in War ✅ War Artists
"A" Able flying through the Eiffel Tower? (although this event likely happened, this photograph is likely fake.) It is signed by the late Bill Bryant RAF who was the navigator of that aircraft piloted by Bob Boorman RCAF. The caption reads "This Stars Stripes photograph was taken on 14 September 1944 and shows a Mosquito Mk XIII of 409 Squadron RCAF. Pilot - W/O Bob Boorman RCAF Navigator F/S Bill Bryant RAF Flying through the Eiffel Tower."
CONTACT
Click here for Information Requests & Data Submissions
NEW & INTERESTING
Exceptionally Interesting Stories and Aircraft What is new in CASPIR?

Kerswill, Giles James Daniel DFC (Warrant Officer 2)

Killed in Action 1942-December-15

Birth Date: 1921-January-06 (age 21)

Son of Giles James Daniel and Marie Kerswill, of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.

Home: Maple, Ontario

Decorations: DFC

Service
RCAF

Unit
194 Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Surrigere colligere To rise and to pick up

Rank

Warrant Officer 2

Marshal
Air Chief Marshal	A/C/M
Air Marshal	A/M
Air Vice Marshal	A/V/M
Air Commodore	A/C
Group Captain	G/C
Wing Commander	W/C
Squadron Leader	S/L
Flight Lieutenant	F/L
Flying Officer	F/O
Pilot Officer	P/O
Warrant Officer 1st Class	WO1
Warrant Officer 2nd Class	WO2
Flight Sergeant	FS
Sergeant	SGT
Corporal	CPL
Senior Aircraftman	SAC
Leading Aircraftman	LAC
Aircraftman 1st Class	AC1
Aircraftman 2nd Class	AC2

Position
Pilot

Service Numbers
R/93446

194 Squadron Hudson IIIa aircraft FH 431 went down near Tezur, India. Warrant Officer Class 2 GJD Kerswill (RCAF)(353 Sqn), Pilot Officer WE Foot (RAFVR)(353 Sqn), FS WC Cameron (RCAF)(194 Sqn), FS R MacLean (RCAF)(USA)(194 Sqn) and Sergeant LK Tempest (RNZAF)(194 Sqn) were missing, believed killed. They are all commemorated on the Singapore War Memorial, Malaya. 194 Sqn, a transport unit, was reclassified as an Airborne Forces Sqn and taken over by 353 Sqn in September 1943. Detail from historyofwar.org

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Find-A-Grave.com Finadagrave.com

Canada Primary Source Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Warrant Officer 2 Giles James Daniel Kerswill has no known grave.

Home

Maple, Ontario

Singapore War Memorial
Column 419

Hudson FH431

Male Head

Flight Sergeant Cameron, William Caverhill (RCAF)
Air Gunner
Killed in Action
1942-December-15
Singapore War Memorial, Singapore

Warrant Officer 2 Kerswill, Giles James Daniel (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Action
1942-December-15
Singapore War Memorial, Singapore

Flight Sergeant MacLean, Ralph (RCAF)
Observer
Killed in Action
1942-December-15
Singapore War Memorial, Singapore

Lockheed Hudson A-28 A-29 AT-18

Lockheed Hudson
Source National Air Force Museum of Canada.

The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force (RAF) shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter. The Hudson served throughout the war, mainly with Coastal Command, but also in transport and training roles, as well as delivering agents into occupied France. They were also used extensively with the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) anti-submarine squadrons. National Air Force Museum of Canada.

YouTube Hudson