16 Year Old RCAF Flight Sgt. Edward James Wright

16 Year Old RCAF Flight Sgt. Edward James Wright enlisted in November 1943 . He had just turned 15 the previous week and after completing all necessary training arrived in England in July 1944 . He was killed
April 30,1945 in Lancaster KB879 of Ghost Squadron , stationed Middleton St. George while up on a routine cross country exercise . He was the rear gunner and his log book shows operations over occupied Europe before what should have been a pleasant spring day flight as the war in Europe was winding down .
We have a lot of information regarding the crash and Canadian Air Force historians believe him to be the youngest Canadian aircrew to be killed and possibly the youngest among all participating Air Forces though there is no way to be certain of that .
Regardless , today we are remembering him and all those who sacrificed so much for the freedoms we have today . Our sincerest appreciation to the wonderful members of the Royal British Legion , Sandon Staffordshire for their everlasting support of a monument they erected in 1999 near their village where the Lanc came down in dedication to the crew of KB879 .

 

75th Anniversary today

 

Ted,
Please see the following link. I think Flt Sgt. Edward James Wright was British, not Canadian.
http://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=50486Flight Sergeant E J WRIGHT (R/287664), Royal Canadian Air Force) [Royal Air Force WW2 Casualty ]

 

Hi,

His DOB on enlistment was given as 7th November 1925 so his military age at death was 19 years.

Here is a link to his RCAF service record.

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin...os=2&queryId=a9098b0ecaebd2d49bb87fc03a11d9e2

It contains several ID photos that show a very young boys face.

Steve

 

About to post that.His parents lived in Brighton.

Interesting how a 16 year old was able to join the RCAF....was he resident in Canada at the time? Now revealed that his DOB year made him 19 years old.

It is recorded that KB 879 dived into the ground at Hixton from 16000 feet after structural failure caused it to break up. {Dave (Alien Eyes) might have a copy of the Court of Inquiry}

The Lancaster was a Canadian built B.X model built by the Victory Aircraft of Canada from a batch of 300 aircraft delivered from September 1943 to March 1945...probably fell to earth near to the OTU unit of RAF Hixon.

 

Harry,

I’ve had a quick scan of his papers. No mention of Brighton connection during WW2.

His parents were English born and married in Montreal 1926. He was born in Canada.

At the time of his enlistment the family were in Winnipeg, Manitoba where his father was a senior RCMP Officer. The only misleading thing in his application was the DOB. NOK recorded correctly suggesting he was a noble young man who joined up with parental knowledge and consent.

Steve

PS

He was technically British as the notion of Canadian nationality was only introduced by Act of Parliament in 1947 (same for other Dominions).

 

He was born and raised in Canada and enlisted in Winnipeg Manitoba . His parents were both originally from England and moved back after the war in 1946 . They returned to Canada in 1951 . I am his nephew , named after him and am Canadian .

 

Well, his Date of Birth would seem to confirm he was 16 and 6 months..
Born: November 7, 1928 in Montreal, Québec Edward James Wright - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada

Does make him one of the youngest, excluding Merchant Navy casualties.....
There are probably Immigration Records for their return to the UK.
Brighton wouldn't be my first choice (if one available) in WW2, but may have been job orientated... railway?

EDIT: OK, Police if ex RCMP, and easy enough the scratch away part of the "8" to look like a "5"
How many youngsters would do the same now?

Thanks for the additional information, Ted, you must be very proud of what he did.

 

Steve

I am referencing information from Bill Chorley's B.C aircraft losses of 1945 when he records information about F/S Wright's parents home.

The information reads.... "It is noted that F/S Wright's parents lived in Brighton in Sussex and his age in the CWGC register is given as 16.If this is correct,then he must have been about the youngest airman to lose his life in World War 11".

A subsequent post by Ted Wright now clears up the matter.

 

As requested, Harry. Sgt Cranston's statement is somewhat telling.

Member alanw has researched this crash extensively. Hopefully he'll see this and lend his expertise.

I see to recall that F/Sgt Wright's father was with the RCMP and posted to the UK, postwar.

Edited to add: James Albert Wright (1888-1957) - Find A Grave...

Cheers,

Dave

 

Crash description by an eye witness of a Lancaster pilot 3,000 ft higher when KB879 began to fly erratically.
Hypoxia due to the oxygen supply cock being off or partially closed would be an explanation as to why the aircraft behaved as it did and why no response from the crew, or attempt to bale out.
428 Squadron Lancaster X KB879 NA-Y Fl/Lt. Campbell, RAF Middleton St George, training accident, Sandon, Staffordshire

 

Thanks Dave for your usual source of technical information.

I would think that Hypoxia would take effect after climbing above 10000 feet without oxygen leading to a number of medical problems,one being lack of coordination initially,then a lapse into unconsciousness of the pilot and crew.

With an uncontrolled dive, it is likely that the airframe would be stressed beyond its max G specification, leading to structural failure.

A similar incident due to a oxygen master regulator being left on manual rather than automatic caused the loss of a Boeing 737-300 in August 2005 which the cockpit crew failed to recognise....preflight checks not adhered to after maintenance.

Failure to recognise non-pressurisation led to August 2005 Helios 737 crash

 

Thanks guys for your interest and information . I would be inclined to think that the oxygen was turned off by the flight description and no available radio contact . But the weird twist here is that we've seen pictures of the wreck and it shows the plane on it's belly burned out reasonably intact as I remember without the tail . I've been looking for the picture sent to me from the Sandon Legion to confirm this but haven't found it yet . That picture as I remember would indicate that the plane didn't nosedive into the ground and having read the descriptions from eyewitnesses that said the plane was trying to gain control after flying over buildings and trees before crashing into the ground makes me think that the pilot may have regained some consciousness after losing it at the higher altitude . We'll never know for sure but a student's and school teacher's account seemed credible .

 

it would seem that Ted's father was also ex RAF (perhaps even RFC) from WW1.
Lancaster KB879 Crash (refers to Ted as 20 years old which would support altering his birth year from 1928 to 1925 by scratching away parts of the 8)
I wonder if his WW1 Service details could be found?
From the account, Ted was the tail gunner and reports were that the tail (turret?) had broken off on impact, explaining why Ted was the first of the crew to be identified. That all were able to be identified doesn't seem to indicate a high speed impact, but perhaps the pilot recovered when below the altitude for piped oxygen and was struggling to recover from the dive.

A fitting day for this to be discussed RIP Ted. You did your bit, rest easy.

 

r

Ted,
Duly noted. And, good to see the other lads responding to your query.
And, may your uncle Rest In Peace.
Lest we forget.