Last Post - Flight Lieutenant Glen Royal Harris
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Source: http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers
Below: images from Brookwood Military Cemetery, courtesy of Mark Lucas, www.lucasphotography.co.uk
See description above, at right for more details.
Flight Lieutenant Glen Royal Harris, a young man from Stratford, Ontario crewed up with Marius Bendt Nielsen who attended No.3 Bombing and Gunnery School at McDonald, Manitoba, from Dec. 15, 1943 to March 9th, 1944 with others from this site.
He is the son of Albert Charles and Lillian Mae Harris; Husband of Peggy Harwood Harris of Stratford, Ontario. .
He joined 432 Squadron, also known as Leaside Squadron. In the tragic accident which took the lives of all crew, F/L Harris was flying with Squadron Leader E. Hayes in a Halifax VII RG-475.
Ops Rept - Mar 5/6, 1945 Chemnitz
86 Halifaxes from 408, 415, 420, 425, 426, 429, and 432 Squadrons were joined by 84 Lancasters from 419, 424, 428, 431, 433, and 434 Squadrons on an attack at Chemnitz. The crews were over the target at between 15,000 and 18,000 feet, releasing 1,064,000 lbs of high explosives. According to reports, severe damage was caused by this attack. There was severe icing over England and this was a factor in most of the crashes.
S/Ldr E. Hayes RCAF
and crew, flying Halifax VII RG-475 coded QO-L, were shot down by friendly anti-aircraft fire over England. According to the report in They Shall grow Not Old, the British Coastal Defense guns near Naze, Essex, shot down the Halifax and crew.
F/Lt Harris is buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery, Woking, Surrey, UK, as is his crewmate Pilot Officer Marius Bendt Neilsen. .
P/O D. Cooke RAF
F/O C. Hay RCAF
P/O D. Ringrose RCAF
F/Lt G. Harris RCAF
P/O M. Neilsen RCAF
P/O G. Orser RCAF
All the crew were killed.
Source: www.rcaf.com/6group/ Click here to read the entire report.
Lost Bombers Report
Serial Range RG472 - RG513. 8 Halifax Mk.V11, part of a batch of 400 HP Halifax Mk.B all delivered 8Feb45.
Airborne 1630 5Mar45 from East Moor on an operation to Chimnitz.
Shot down by 'friendly' Flak from a coastal battery near Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex. Thus, P/O Cooke died just 30 miles from his home at Leigh-on-Sea. With six other members of his crew, he is buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery. F/L Clothier RCAF, was claimed by relatives as his grave is in Monmouthshire at Rockfield (St.Cenhedlon) Churchyard, Llangattock. He was was beginning his third tour of operations having re-mustered as a pilot from the trade of Air Gunner. He remained undecorated; both air Gunners were nineteen years of age. This Chemnitz raid was part of Operation Thunderclap. S/L E.A.Hayes RCAF KIA F/L J.G.Clothier (P2) RCAF KIA P/O D.E.Cooke KIA F/O C.M.Hay DSO RCAF KIA P/O D.J.Ringrose RCAF KIA F/L G.R.Harris MiD RCAF KIA f/S M.B.Nielsen RCAF KIA F/S G.M.Orser RCAF KIA "
Source: www.lostbombers.co.uk Click on the link for the entire report
Click here to read the ""They Shall Grow Not Old" entry for Flight Lieutenant Glen Royal Harris.
Flight Lieutenant Glen Royal Harris is buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery, a cemetery maintained by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission at location 50. G. 6.Click on the link to see an image of the certificate issued by the Commission in his memory.
Rudyard Kipling, the British author and poet lost a son in World War I. He selected the phrase, "Their Name Liveth for Evermore", from Ecclesiasticus 44:14.
"Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for evermore."
Mark Lucas, British Photographer, has kindly agreed to the use of his images for this site. Click here to visit his website.
In Memory of
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Canada's Bomber Memorial contains the names of 10,063 brave Canadian members of Bomber Command who died during World War II. To see images of the beautiful Memorial at Nanton, Alberta, click here. In the middle of the column on this panel one can see the name of Glen Royal Harris..
This image from Canada's Bomber Command Memorial was taken by Lloyd and Susan Campbell.
JB Note: G. R Harris' first name is also sometimes spelled as Glenn. I have chosen to use Glen as reported on the memorial above and the Province of Ontario – Certificate of Registration of Death. My apologies if this is incorrect.
The image below is a memorial erected by Stratford, Ontario to those fallen from the area who gave their lives in war.
Memorial Number: 35066-021
Type: two bronze statues, three granite shafts and base
Location: Memorial Gardens
Address: Lakeside Drive
Stratford, ON
Surveyor: Arthur H. Boon; Ken Reynolds
Photo Credit: Arthur H. Boon; Ken Reynolds
Click here to see more photos of the memorial.
Flight Lieutenant Glen Royal Harris' name is found on the central column.