Service Number: 167223 Royal Air Force Reserves

John Albert Winkley was born on the 28th June 1923, one of seven known children born to Sidney Samuel Winkley and Beatrice Oakley.

By the time of the 1939 census John is listed as a shipping clerk living at his parents’ home in Ashville Avenue, Castle Bromwich.

Shortly after this, he must have enrolled with the Police as the Police Museum Website includes him on their roll of honour and records him as Birmingham City Police B94 and includes his photograph (linked to above.)

Like John, a large number of officers left Birmingham City Police Force to join the RAF of the FAA, one of the few services they could enter as a reserved occupation.

John joined the Royal Air Force on Monday 5 April 1943 and trained as a pilot in Canada. He served in 45 Group which was responsible for the ferrying of new aircraft from American and Canadian factories to operational unit.

He appears to have completed his training and was part of a crew tasked with ferrying a a Liberator Mk. VIII, serial number KN768, coded 6FU, to India.


John was allocated as co-pilot flying alongside with Flying Officer 153243 Derrick William Southwell, pilot, Sergeant 1380980 Geoffrey Frank Buers, wireless operator/gunner, gunners Sergeant 1564511 Allan Thomas Furness, Sergeant 1807448 Ivor Ralph Platt, and Flight Sergeant 1589541 George Edward Chappell ,flight engineer.


Taking off from Dorval, near Montreal, the Liberator was found to be in a semi-stalled condition with the undercarriage being raised prematurely. The aircraft sank to earth striking the port outer propeller on the runway, the propeller becoming detached resulting in an engine failure. The aircraft was then seen to climb to about 50 feet and crash onto the runway bursting into flames. The entire crew either perished in the aircraft or later the same day in hospital.


John himself was seriously injured in the crash and succumbed the same day, 30th June 1945, in the Royal Air Force Hospital, Lachine.

He is buried Montreal Mount Royal Cemetery, Quebec, Canada and is commemorated on the Castle Bromwich Altar of Remembrance, known locally as the War Memorial.

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References

Cummings, C., The Price of Peace – a catalogue of RAF aircraft losses between VE-Day and end of 1945.

World War 2 Roll of Honour, https://www.wmpeelers.com/