Edwards, Vivian Russell
Killed in Flying Accident 1944-12-06
Birth Date: 1923
Born:
Son of Mordecai Edwards, and of Bernice E. Edwards, of Salisbury, England.
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAFVR
Unit
31 ANS- Air Navigation School (RAF)
Base
RCAF Stn. Port Albert, Ontario
Rank
Leading Aircraftman
Position
Leading Aircraftman
Service Numbers
1588027
First Burial
Ottawa Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)This incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Anson Mk. V Serial: 12043
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Anson 12043
Avro Anson
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
Harold A Skaarup Web Page 
Avro Anson History31 ANS (31 Air Navigation School)
Nos. 1 & 2 Air Navigation Schools offered four-week courses in astronavigation and were the last step for Air Observers.The RAF schools, Nos. 31, 32, and 33, provided the same training as Air Observer Schools.
RCAF.info - RCAF Station Port Albert On
Anson 12043
Anson Mk. V 12043
Reported missing on 7 December 1944 while on navigation exercise with No. 31 Air Navigation School at Port Albert, Ontario. 5 fatalities: pilot Flight Sergeant G. Dawson, Leading Aircraftman V.R. Edwards, Leading Aircraftman S.H. Lazarus, Sgt. G. McLeod, Leading Aircraftman F.G. Ovenden, all RAF. The bodies were never located.1944-07-07 Taken on Strength 2022-02-07
1944-December-06 Accident: 51 Air Navigation School Loc: Unknown Names: Dawson | Edwards | Lazarus | McLeod | Ovenden
1945-03-08 Struck off Strength 2022-02-07