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Wortley, Douglas Buchanan (Aircraftman 2nd Class)

Killed in Flying Accident 1941-September-21

Birth Date: 1918-August-10 (age 23)

Son of James and Jessie Wortley; husband of Irene C. Wortley, of Port Moody, British Columbia.

Husband of Irene C. Wortley, of Port Moody, British Columbia.

Home: Port Moody, British Columbia

Service
RCAF
Unit
7 SFTS- Service Flying Training School
Base
MacLeod, Alberta, Canada
Rank
Aircraftman 2nd Class
Marshal
Air Chief MarshalA/C/M
Air MarshalA/M
Air Vice MarshalA/V/M
Air CommodoreA/C
Group CaptainG/C
Wing CommanderW/C
Squadron LeaderS/L
Flight LieutenantF/L
Flying OfficerF/O
Pilot OfficerP/O
Warrant Officer 1st ClassWO1
Warrant Officer 2nd ClassWO2
Flight SergeantFS
SergeantSGT
CorporalCPL
Senior AircraftmanSAC
Leading AircraftmanLAC
Aircraftman 1st ClassAC1
Aircraftman 2nd ClassAC2
Position
Service Numbers
R/118313
AC2 D.B. Wortley, Sergeant L.P. Britland and Flying Officer L.W. Brooks were all killed when Anson aircraft 9818 crashed four and one half miles north-west of Yale, British Columbia. All 3 men were cremated and buried at the crash site. AC2 Wortley was employed as a Driver at 7 SFTS, MacLeod, Alberta and apparently was flying home on leave on a ferry flight when the aircraft crashed. AC2 Wortley was employed as a Driver at 7 SFTS, MacLeod, Alberta and apparently was flying home on leave on a ferry flight when the aircraft crashed.

General Article from Esprit de Corps Magazine regarding the attempted recovery of the Crew by Anne Gafiuk

Canada Primary Source Ancestry.ca "“ Service File of War Dead 1939-47

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Find-A-Grave.com Finadagrave.com

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

Aircraftman 2nd Class Douglas Buchanan Wortley was cremated.

Home
Google MapPort Moody, British Columbia

Google MapOttawa War Memorial
Panel 1 Column 2

Anson N9818

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.

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

last update: 2022-02-22 21:45:24

Anson Mk. I N9818

Assigned to Western Air Command on 3 September 1941, for use by No. 32 Operational Training Unit at RCAF Station Patricia Bay, BC. Destroyed when it struck a mountain peak north-west of Yale, BC late in the afternoon on 21 September 1941. All 3 occupants killed, pilot Pilot Officer L.W. Brooks, Sgt. L.P. Bretland and D.B. Hartley (on leave from McLeod, Alberta). Aircraft was ferrying to Western Air Command when it crashed. Crash location also reported as 4.5 miles south-west of Yale?

1941-06-25 Taken on Strength Aircraft Repair 2019-08-20
1941-September-21 Accident: 32 Operational Training Unit Loc: Yale British Columbia Names: Britland | Brooks | Wortley
1942-02-21 Struck off Strength 2019-08-20

7 SFTS (7 Service Flying Training School)

Graduates of the EFTS "learn-to-fly" program went on a Service Flying Training School (SFTS) for 16 weeks. For the first 8 weeks the trainee was part of an intermediate training squadron; for the next 6 weeks an advanced training squadron and for the final 2 weeks training was conducted at a Bombing & Gunnery School. The Service schools were military establishments run by the RCAF or the RAF.

There were two different types of Service Flying Training Schools. Trainees in the fighter pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 14 Aylmer, where they trained in the North American Harvard or North American Yale. Trainees in the bomber, coastal or transport pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 5 Brantford where they learned multi-engine technique in an Airspeed Oxford, Avro Anson or Cessna Crane.

Avro Anson Training Flight

For More information on RCAF Station Fort McLeod see here

RCAF Roundel RCAF.info - RCAF Station MacLeod AB

RCAF Roundel RCAF.info - Relief Landing Field Granum AB

RCAF Roundel RCAF.info - Relief Landing Field Standoff AB

Museum Bomber Command Museum Of Canada

Museum Vintage Wings - Ghosts Of Southern Alberta

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