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RCAF Portage La Prairie
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Those known to have served at RCAF Portage La Prairie during the Second World War 1939-1945. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 19th Nov 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
264989 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
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- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
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Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
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Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
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Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Want to know more about RCAF Portage La Prairie? There are:-1 items tagged RCAF Portage La Prairie available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Ernest Henry "Barney" D'ath-Weston 115 Squadron Ernest D'ath-Weston started pilot training at RNZAF Station Bell Block. He was out with his mates in their Tiger Moths when they saw some young ladies in the surf. The young ladies waved at them and had forgotten their bathing suits so some very low flying occurred. A local farmer reported them and Mr D'ath-Weston was then made a navigator.
Coming back one time they saw Cologne burning but were not involved.
They were hit by flack coming back from a raid in Wellington and ditched near Holland I think and were picked up by a German seaplane which tipped them into the water using one of it's floats. He was liberated from the POW Camp by the Russians later.
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F/O. Mervyn David Greene 166 Squadron My father, Mervyn Greene served with 166 Squadron. I have several of his papers, flight log, commission certificate, uniform and pictures from his service with the Royal Canadian Air Force in WW2.
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F/O. Samuel William Pechet No. 428 Squadron (d.5th Dec 1944)  Canadian Flying Officer Samuel W. Pechet was born in Cupar, Saskatchewan on 15 Sep 1914 to William and Sophia Pechet. He enlisted in the RCAF in October 1942 and after graduating at Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, he went overseas in October 1943. He was a bomb aimer, and completed 27 operational flights.
On the night of 5th of December 1944, the mission of RAF Bomber Command No. 6 Group (RCAF) was to bomb a rail yard in Soest, Germany, an operation involving over 450 aircraft. Sam died that night in particularly tragic circumstances for the 428 Squadron at RAF Middleton, St. George when Sam’s Avro Lancaster Mark X, KB768 collided in mid-air over Yelvertoft with a Handley Page Halifax Mark VII, LW200, 426 (Canadian) Squadron, from RAF Linton on Ouse, Yorkshire. All 14 crew members were killed in the resulting massive explosions created by the two aircraft which, outbound, were both fully loaded with aviation fuel, tons of bombs, and multiple rounds of ammunition.
No traces of Sam and five other crewmen were ever found. He has no known grave, so his name is inscribed on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, England.
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