Wright, Edward James (Flight Sergeant)

Killed in Flying Accident 1945-April-30

Flight Sergeant Edward James Wright RCAF

Birth Date: 1928-November-07

Born: Montreal, Quebec

Parents: Son of James Albert and Alfreda May Wright, of Brighton, Sussex.

Spouse:

Home: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Enlistment: Winnipeg Manitoba

Enlistment Date: 1943-November-18

Service

RCAF

Unit

428 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Usque Ad Finem To the Very End

Base

RAF Middleton St George

Rank

Flight Sergeant

Position

Air Gunner (Rear)

Service Numbers

R/287664

Home
Google MapWinnipeg, Manitoba
Final Burial
Google MapBlacon Cemetery
Section A Grave 1023

FS Wright's parents, James Albert Wright and Alfreda May Wright were both from England but had emigrated to Canada and married September 14, 1926 in Montreal. His father served as a Superintendent in the RCMP, serving with the RCMP in Montreal, Quebec, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Charlottetown, PEI and was later posted to Winnipeg, Manitoba in May of 1943

Edward James "Teddy" Wright was born November 7, 1928 in Montreal, Quebec. He was sister to Ada Mary Wright and twins Richard Harvey Wright and Patricia Wright. He went to school in Halifax and later Charlottetown, finishing grade eight in 1940 after which he held various jobs between 1941 and 1943 and enlisted in Winnipeg on November 18, 1943. His father had reluctantly signed his enlistment papers, not expecting his son to succeed. The enlistment papers that the teenager presented to the recruiter stated that he was born in 1925, not the actual year of 1928 and so the five-foot-six, 129 pound fair-haired, slightly-built 15 year old was somehow accepted for service. He trained in Canada as an Air Gunner and shipped to the United Kingdom, arriving July 27, 1944 where he continued training with 26 Operational Training Unit, which included several operational flights over Nazi Germany until finally being posted to 428 Squadron RCAF on April 22, 1945

Eight days later, FS EJ Wright (RCAF) was killed in a flying accident at 16 years of age, believed to be the youngest Canadian airman to be killed in WW2. Too Young to Die, Canada's Boy Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen in the Second World War by John Boileau and Dan Black

Unvetted Source Edward James Wright Story

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Grave Commission International Bomber Command Centre

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

Crew or Other Personnel

Lancaster KB879

Flight Sergeant Stuart Berryman RCAF

Flight Sergeant Berryman, Stuart (RCAF)
Bomb Aimer
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-April-30
Blacon Cemetery, Chester, Cheshire, UK

Flight Lieutenant William Gavin Campbell RCAF

Flight Lieutenant Campbell, William Gavin (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-April-30
Blacon Cemetery, Chester, Cheshire, UK

Sergeant John Henry Kay RCAF

Sergeant Kay, John Henry (RCAF)
Navigator
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-April-30
Blacon Cemetery, Chester, Cheshire, UK

Warrant Officer II Thomas Daniel Lawley RCAF

Warrant Officer II Lawley, Thomas Daniel (RCAF)
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-April-30
Blacon Cemetery, Chester, Cheshire, UK

Flight Sergeant John Lester Tweedy RCAF

Flight Sergeant Tweedy, John Lester (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Mid-Upper)
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-April-30
Blacon Cemetery, Chester, Cheshire, UK

Flight Sergeant Walter Graham Ward RAFVR

Flight Sergeant Ward, Walter Graham (RAFVR)
Flight Engineer
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-April-30
Shawfield Cemetery, Selkirk, UK

Flight Sergeant Edward James Wright RCAF

Flight Sergeant Wright, Edward James (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Rear)
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-April-30
Blacon Cemetery, Chester, Cheshire, UK

Mission

Lancaster Mk.X KB879

Operational 1945-April-29 to 1945-April-30

428 (B) Sqn (RCAF) RAF Middleton St George

428 Ghost Squadron (Usque Ad Finem) RAF Middleton St George. The crew of Lancaster B X aircraft KB879 NA-Y were engaged on a cross-country navigational exercise with a second Lancaster when they appeared to suddenly lose flight control and spiraled down to crash at Sandon, Staffordshire, England with the loss of the entire crew. The crash investigation showed a faulty auto-pilot and an issue with the oxygen supply control as probable causes for the loss

Unvetted Source 428 Squadron Lancaster X KB879 NA-Y Fl/Lt. Campbell RAF ...

Unvetted Source Avro Lancaster (KB879 NA-Y) Crash Memorial, Sandon, Staffordshire,...

Lancaster serial: KB879

Avro Lancaster Mk. X RCAF Serial FM 213
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.

The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling. Wikipedia

YouTube Lancaster Bomber

Wikipedia Wikipedia

Unvetted Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Unit Desciption

428 (B) Sqn Usque Ad Finem ("Ghost")

History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Wellington III, X, Halifax V, II, Lancaster X)

No 428 Squadron was the ninth long-range heavy bomber squadron and the 26th RCAF squadron formed overseas during the Second World War. It was formed at RAF Dalton in Yorkshire, England on November 7, 1942. The squadron was initially assigned to No. 4 Group RAF Bomber Command. With the creation of No. 6 Group RCAF, the squadron was reallocated on January 1, 1943 operating with it until April 25, 1945.

The squadron was originally equipped with Vickers Wellington Mk III and X, and its first operational mission was on January 26–27, 1943, when five Wellingtons bombed the U-Boat base at Lorient in Brittany, on the Bay of Biscay. In the early part of June 1943, the squadron moved to RAF Middleton St. George, Durham where it remained for the remainder of the war. Around this time the squadron was converted to Handley Page Halifaxes (Mk Vs, and later supplemented by Mk II Series IIA). In January 1944, Halifax bombers from No. 428 Squadron participated in the first high-level mining raid "Gardening", when mines were dropped by parachute from 15,000 feet (4,570 m) over Brest on 4/5 Jan and Saint-Nazaire on 6/7 Jan 1944. The squadron flew its last sortie with the Halifax on June 12, 1944 then converted to the Canadian-built Avro Lancaster Mk X, the first sortie taking place on June 14, 1944.

For the final phase of the air campaign against Germany, the squadron took part in day and night raids, with its last operational sortie taking place on April 25, 1945, when 15 Lancasters bombed anti-aircraft gun batteries defending the mouth of the Weser, on the Frisian Island of Wangerooge. The squadron remained in service in the United Kingdom until the end of May 1945, then flew to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia . The squadron was intended to be part of the "Tiger Force" to carry on the war against Japan, but the Japanese surrender led to the disbandment of the force. The squadron was therefore disbanded at Yarmouth in September 1945.

In the course of WWII operations, the squadron flew 283 missions involving 3467 individual sorties. 84 aircraft were lost and a total of 9378 tons of bombs were dropped. the aircrew earned 2 DSO's, 71 DFC's, 2 CGM's and 6 DFM's. Battle Honours were: English Channel and North Sea 1943-44, Baltic 1944, Fortress Europe 1943-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1943-44, Ruhr 1943-45, Berlin 1943-44, German Ports 1943-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1943-44. Wikipedia, Kostenuk and Griffin

Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)

Maps for Movements of 428 Squadron 1942-45

MAP 1: 428 Squadron Bases 1942-45 (marked in green). Right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab

428 Squadron History Summary 1942-45

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Canuck)

The squadron was re-activated as the fifth Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck equipped squadron, on June 21, 1954, at RCAF Station Uplands as 428 All-Weather (Fighter) Squadron. It was re-activated, as one of nine Canadian based RCAF squadrons, to be operating under the new RCAF Air Defence Command, protecting North American airspace from Soviet intruders and long range bombers. The squadron was finally disbanded on 1 June 1961.