Taylor, Selby Fred
Killed in Flying Accident 1943-12-09
Birth Date: 1924
Born:
Son of William and Vevanda Taylor, of Oak Bay.
Home: Victoria, British Columbia
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RCAF
Unit
24 EFTS- Elementary Flying Training School
Base
Abbotsford, British Columbia,Canada
Rank
Leading Aircraftman
Position
Leading Aircraftman
Service Numbers
R/215330
First Burial
Royal Oak Burial Park, Victoria, British Columbia
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves CommissionThis incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Cornell Cornell III Serial: 15248
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Fairchild Cornell
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
In early 1942, an agreement was signed between the Canadian Government and Fairchild Aircraft, which licenced Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie, Ontario to construct the PT-26 Cornell in Canada. The first 800 Cornells used by the RCAF were supplied from Fairchild, until production commenced at Fort Erie in November 1942. By the end of the war in 1945, 2,853 Cornells had been built by Fleet - 1,565 for the RCAF and 1,288 for the RAF.
PT-26 Cornells were flown at many of the Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, where they replaced the Fleet Finch and the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane trainers. After the Second World War, many Cornells were sold to the civilian market, but some were retained by the RCAF, where they were finally retired in 1948.CWPHM
Cornell Trainer
Wikipedia Cornell Trainer 
Harold A Skaarup Web Page 24 EFTS (24 Elementary Flying Training School)
An Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) gave a trainee 50 hours of basic flying instruction on a simple trainer like the De Havilland Tiger Moth, Fleet Finch, or Fairchild Cornell over 8 weeks.Elementary schools were operated by civilian flying clubs under contract to the RCAF and most of the instructors were civilians. For example, No. 12 EFTS Goderich was run by the Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Club and the County of Huron Flying Club.The next step for a pilot was the Service Flying Training School.
More Information on RCAF Station Abbotsford available here
RCAF.info - RCAF Station Abbotsford BC
Cornell 15248
Cornell Cornell III 15248
With No. 24 Elementary Flying Training School at Abbotsford, BC whenit crashed on the airfield at 10:20 on 9 December 1943. Leading Aircraftman S.F. Taylor, only occupant, Killed. This was first fatal crash at 24 EFTS.1943-09-20 Taken on Strength 2022-02-07
1943-December-09 Accident: 24 Elementary Flying Training School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Taylor
1944-02-09 Struck off Strength 2022-02-07