Lefurgey, John Alfred

Killed in Flying Accident 1942-08-18

Birth Date: 1914-February-02

Born:

Son of Alfred Alexander and Eva Blanehe Lefurgey, of Vancouver.

Home: Vancouver, British Columbia

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RCAF

Unit

1 BGS- Bombing & Gunnery School

Base

Jarvis, Ontario, Canada

Rank

Leading Aircraftman

Position

Leading Aircraftman

Service Numbers

R/146436

Home
Google MapVancouver, British Columbia
First Burial
Google MapMountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Anson aircraft 8207 was engaged on a low-level bombing exercise near target B3 at Evans Point, Lake Erie and had completed the exercise when it collided with Fairey Battle aircraft 1604 which had just completed a gunnery exercise. The collision occurred at about 2,500 feet and both aircraft went into a spin, the Fairey Battle crashed into the lake in about ten feet of water and the Anson crashed on shore and burned. Both aircraft were completely demolished, Leading Aircraftman W.M. Kirkby, Leading Aircraftman A.C. Reed, and Sergeant J.W. Whitehead (RNZAF) were killed in the Fairey Battle. Flying Officer Poole, Leading Aircraftman J.A. Lefurgey, and Leading Aircraftman G.C. Burke were killed in the Anson.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

www.findagrave.com

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

This incident involved multiple aircraft:

  1. Battle Mk. I / IT Serial: 1604
  2. Anson Mk. II Serial: 8207

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

Findagrave.com

Anson 8207

Leading Aircraftman Burke, Gordon Cragg (RCAF)
Air Gunner
Killed in Flying Accident
1942-August-18
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Leading Aircraftman Lefurgey, John Alfred (RCAF)
Air Gunner
Killed in Flying Accident
1942-August-18
Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Flying Officer Poole, Maxwell Boyer (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1942-August-18
Elmwood Cemetery, Hespeler Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

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

1 BGS (1 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 Jarvis Ontario

General RCAF Jarvis Blog

RCAF Foundation Station Jarvis

General RCAF Station Jarvis

Wikipedia RCAF Station Jarvis History

General RCAF Station Jarvis History

Project 44 BCATP

General Project 44 BCATP

YouTube YouTube - Valour Canada Aerodrome of Democracy

Battle 1604

Battle Mk. I / IT 1604

Ex RAF N2158. TOS 24 Feb 1940 at Trenton. To No. 1 Training Command, for AAS. Collided with #1814 3 m W of Fisherville, ON, 9 Dec 1941; landed safely. Collided with Anson 8207 of the same School over the range near Evans Point, on the Lake Erie shore, at 17:00 on 18 August 1942. This aircraft spun into the lake. Sergeant J.W. Whitehead, LACs AC. Reed and W.M. Kirkby were all killed. SOS 27 Oct 1942. Cat A write-off.

1940-02-24 Taken on Strength 2019-08-20
1941-December-09 Accident: 1 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Fisherville Ontario Names: Agnew | Barber | Bounds | Gould | Gray | Mitchell
1942-August-18 Accident: 1 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Burke | Kirkby | Lefurgey | Poole | Reed | Whitehead
1942-10-27 Struck off Strength Struck off, after Category A crash on 18 August 1942. 2019-08-20

Anson 8207

Anson Mk. II 8207

Delivered to stored reserve, issued from storage on 4 May 1942. First assigned to No. 1 Bombing & Gunnery School at Jarvis, Ontario. Still with this School when it crashed on lake shore near Evans Point on Lake Erie at about 17:00 on 18 August 1942, after a mid air collision with Battle 1604 from the same School. Burned after crash, pilot Flying Officer M. Goole and two students killed. To No. 6 Repair Depot for write off.

1942-04-15 Taken on Strength No. 1 Training Command 2019-08-20
1942-August-18 Accident: 1 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Burke | Kirkby | Lefurgey | Poole | Reed | Whitehead
1942-10-29 Struck off Strength Struck off, reduced to spares and produce 2019-08-20