PO. Robert John "Jackie" Westgate
Royal Canadian Air Force 97th Sqd. Squadron
from:East Angus, Quebec, Canada
(d.11th July 1942)
My Uncle Jackie, RCAF Pilot Officer Robert John Westgate, tailgunner served with RAF Woodhall Spa and was killed in action July 11, 1942. I have a great deal of information about him from my Mom, his sister. He came from a very small town named East Angus, Quebec, in the Eastern Townships southeast of Montreal. He was one of six children of my grandparents and one of four sons. He also had two sisters, my Mom and her sister Carolyn. For a boy from a small town, signing up for the air force was an adventure, a chance to see the world and help the Allied Forces win the war.
He did all of his training first in Canada and further courses once he arrived in Lincolnshire. He was first stationed at Bourne and then his Squadron moved to RAF Woodhall Spa. He and his buddy, Nicky Nickerson, lived with a Mrs. Dowes on the street behind the centre of town where the memorial is. He used to play tennis on his days off and go to the Kinema theatre as well as the Petwood Hotel.
My Mom knows a lot about his flying experiences as he wrote many letters home to his brother, my Mom and his parents. I am primarily interested in finding out (for my Mom) what other things the boys would have done between ops. Would they have gone on day trips to other towns or did they have to stay close to the base in case they were needed? I would assume they did. The night Jackie was killed, he was not supposed to have been on that plane. He subbed for another crew member who was not able to go that night. Not sure of the exact reasons. Nonetheless, he jumped at the chance as that mission was a daring daylight raid over the port of Danzig, Poland. The idea was to avoid the searchlights from the UBoats below by flying low under the cloud cover and surprise them as they were used to the Lancs flying under the cover of darkness. It was a very dangerous mission and unfortunately, my Uncle's Lanc and another Lanc were caught by the flak and crashed in a forest south of the port. His plane was found two years later and he and his crew were buried in the Malbork Commonwealth Cemetery.
I am interested in making contact with the families of two of the crew members, Englishmen Eslick and Forsyth.
