Rees, Ivan Henry

Killed in Flying Accident 1944-08-01

Birth Date: 1913

Born:

Son of John Edward and Aletha Maud Rees, of Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.; husband of Jean E. Rees, of Flat Rock, Michigan.

Home: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RCAF

Unit

4 BGS- Bombing & Gunnery School

Base

Fingal, Ontario, Canada

Rank

Pilot Officer

Position

Pilot Officer

Service Numbers

J/44121
Prev: R/201394

The crew of Anson aircraft 6711 were on a routine bombing exercise when the aircraft stuck the ground and burned two miles east of Southwold Station, Ontario. Pilot Officer K.M. Joyce, Pilot Officer I.H. Rees, Leading Aircraftman D.F. McLay and Leading Aircraftman S.C. Turner (RAAF) were killed.

This incident involved multiple aircraft:

  1. Anson Mk. I Serial: 6711

All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.

Avro Anson

Avro Anson Mk. V
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
The Museum's Anson Mk. V was built by MacDonald Brothers in Winnipeg in 1944. It flew with No. 7 Photographic Wing and No. 414 Squadron in Ottawa on photo survey work until the late 1940s. In 1956, it was purchased by INCO and used for mineral surveying until 1980, when it was donated to the Museum. The exterior is painted in the yellow colour common to all BCATP trainers and is in its same wartime RCAF markings.
Avro_Anson_675_m.jpg image not found

The Avro Anson was known by a number of nicknames including "Faithful Annie" or "Flying Greenhouse". It was the first aircraft to be flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force to have a retractable undercarriage, which was a comparative novelty in 1936. In 1940, a Canadian government owned company, Federal Aircraft Limited, was created in Montreal to manufacture the Anson for Canadian use. Nearly 3,000 Anson aircraft were produced and, in the early days of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), the Anson was the standard trainer for many pilots, observers (navigators), wireless operators and bomb aimers. More than 20,000 aircrew received training on the Anson. In Canadian service, the aircraft was substantially re-designed with the substitution of North American engines and many other airframe and equipment changes.Harold Skaarup web pages

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

YouTube Avro Anson History

YouTube Avro Anson Construction

4 BGS (4 Bomb and Gunnery School)

The Bombing and Gunnery School (B&GS) offered instruction in the techniques of bomb aiming and aerial machine gunnery to Air Observers, Bomb Aimers, and Wireless Air Gunners. These schools required large areas to accommodate their bombing and gunnery ranges, and were often located near water. The Avro Anson, Fairey Battle, Bristol Bolingbroke, and Westland Lysander were the standard aircraft used at B&GS schools.

Canada Primary Source RCAF.info - RCAF Station Fingal Ontario

Museum Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum - 4 BGS History

General RCAF Fingal Blog

Project 44 BCATP

General Project 44 BCATP

YouTube YouTube - Valour Canada Aerodrome of Democracy


Anson 6711

Anson Mk. I 6711

Ex RAF W2417. To No. 3 Training Command on 26 August 1941, for use by No. 10 Air Observer School at Chatham, NB. Category C damage at Chatham aerodrome at 17:00 on 16 December 1941. Assigned to Canada Car & Foundry for overhaul, 31 March on 31 March 1943, with 1490:30 logged time. Delivered to Amherst, NS on 15 April 1943. To storage with No. 1 Training Command on 16 November 1943. Involved in fatal crash at No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School, Fingal, Ontario, on 1 August 1944. 4 fatalities, including one RAAF student. Information from plaque on Cenotaph at Fingal.

1941-06-04 Taken on Strength Ottawa Car & Aircraft 2019-08-20
1941-December-19 Accident: 10 Air Observer School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Dugal | Koehn | Laflammme | Usher
1944-August-01 Accident: 4 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Southwold Station Names: Joyce | Mclay | Rees | Turner
1944-09-21 Struck off Strength 2019-08-20