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211191
Sgt. James Aloysius Park
Royal Air Force 101 Squadron
from:Glasgow
(d.24 May 1943)
Aged 20 years old my Uncle Jimmy Park joined the RAF as a Volunteer Reserve in 1940. In February 1942 he was posted to Ansty were he completed his Elementary Flying Training and was then posted to Paulson, Manitoba, Canada for training. In August 1942 he was taking his Air Bomber Armament Qualification and in the October his Air Bombers Navigation Course.
He returned to the UK and in early May 1943 was at Lindholme 1656 Conversion Unit before being posted to the 101 Squadron at Holme, Spading Moor. He had three flights before his first ops which was on the 23rd May 1943. After a 9-day break in operations, Bomber Command dispatched 826 aircraft to Dortmund in the Battle of the Ruhr. Uncle Jimmy was part of the crew of Lancaster W4919 which took off at 10:30pm and was later shot down by a night fighter at 02:33 at Bergen, four miles into Holland. All the crew were killed on their first ever mission. He was buried in the military cemetery at Venlo and later interred at Jonkerboos.