Gilson, John
Personal Information
Rank | P/O |
Forename(s) | John |
Surname | Gilson |
Gender | M |
Age | 23 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 28-04-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gilson, of Scott, Saskatchewan, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax III |
Serial Number | MZ536 |
Markings | SE-F |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Belgium |
Burial/Memorial Place | Schoonselhof Cemetery |
Grave Reference | IVa. D. 25. |
Epitaph | PEACE, PERFECT PEACE, WITH LOVED ONES FAR AWAY |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 170 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/88963 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 431 (Iroquois) |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Gilson Lake, Saskatchewan |
Country | Canada |
Memorial Type | Lake |
Memorial Text |
Location | Race Control Building, Croft Auto Circuit, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Roadside Location, A167, Dalton on Tees, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial topped with metal statue |
Memorial Text | In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Adjacent to A19, Burn, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Memorial Stone |
Memorial Text | A memorial to all those who served on 431 Sqn RCAF at RCAF Burn, 1942-1943 |
Location | Village Green, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone with inscribed metal plaques & Maple Tree |
Memorial Text | In memory of all those who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2 including 431 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Old Control Tower, former airfield site, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of all those who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2 including 431 Sqn RCAF |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1858/8 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1858/7 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 27-04-1944 |
End Date | 28-04-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Croft |
Day/Night Raid | Night (29% moon) |
Operation | Montzen- to attack railway installations. 144 aircraft, 15 losses (10.4%). Not a particularly successful raid, compounded by very high loss rate. Only one part of the railway yards were hit. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter and thought to have crashed at Trognee, Belgium, although their original burial site of Antwerp Deurne, being somewhat distant, casts doubt over the accuracy of the information |