flying officer harry sager royal canadian air force,

im searching for any information on flying officer harry sager of the royal canadian airforce (navigator) attached to 78 squadron r.a.f , i believe his
halifax was brought down on the 12/13 june 1944 near amiens. does anyone
have any information about him, or how his plane was brought down ?
i am his great nephew , cant seem to find any information on him or his
crew, does anyone have any photos of him or his crew?

many thanks andy sager

 

Harry Sager was born on 26th January 1921.

In May 1942, he enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force and recieved his Navigator Wings and Comission At O.T.U, St Johns Quebec in June 1943. He later went overseas in July 1943.
Further training ensued at Marston Moor H.C.U (Heavy Conversion Unit). He then left the H.C.U with his crew to arrive at 78 Squadron, Royal Air Force on May 27th 1944. 78 Squadron at this time were using the Halifax B III.
Introduced in 1943, had a perspex nose and modified tail of the MKII. new Bristol Hercules engines replaced earlier Merlins. This type also sported rounded wing tips.
Home to 78 Squadron was R.A.F Breighton located six miles North-East of Selby. Squadron Aircraft Code: EY
On The 12th June 1944, Halifax Serial number; MZ631, CODE: EY-Y took off from Breighton Airfield at 22:21. The target for this operation was to attack rail facilities at Ameins. On board were:

Stanley Allen Rae: Flight SGT, 423420, R.N.Z.A.F. Pilot. Age 29.
Ronald Edward Miles: SGT, 119282, R.A.F.V.R. Flight Engineer. Age 23.
Harry. H. Sager: Flying Officer, J29415. R.C.A.F. Navigator. Age 23.
Frank Edwin Spinks: SGT, 1625934. R.A.F.V.R. Air Gunner. Age 20.
Frederick George Colwell: SGT, 1600445. R.A.F.V.R. W.OP/ Air Gunner. Age 20.
Thomas. T. Gilmartin: SGT, 520265. R.A.F. Air Gunner. Age Unknown.

The aircraft damaged by Enemy Action, crashed in the area of Longueil, Seine Maritime, France. All on board perished. 78 Squadron lost 3 Halifaxes on that operation. The other two aircraft were; Halifax: LV820 EY-F & Halifax LV915 EY-H.
The crew previously flew together on the operations of:
-6th June 1944- St Lo.
-7th June 1944- Juvisy
-9th June 1944- Laval Airfield
-12th June 1944- Amiens, from which they failed to return. The crew of Halifax MZ631 EY-Y lie buried in the South-East corner of Longueil churchyard, Seine Maritime, France.

A few Youtube links you must see...

YouTube - Halifax Aircraft

YouTube - A walk through the Handley Page "Halifax" in Elvington

YouTube - RAF Bomber Command (Tribute Video)

Hope you find this useful old chap.
-Kelly's Hero.

 

Search Details - Veterans Affairs Canada


Service Number: J/29415
Age: 23
Force: Air Force
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force
Division: 78 (R.A.F.) Sqdn
Burial Information:
Cemetery:
LONGUEIL CHURCHYARD
Seine-Maritime,France

Photo Collection - Veterans Affairs Canada

photos include grave and newspaper article

Harry Sager is honoured on page 63 of the memorial book,
CANADIAN JEWS IN WORLD WAR II, Part II: Casualties,
compiled by David Rome for the Canadian Jewish Congress, Montreal, 1948.
This extract is provided courtesy of the Canadian Jewish Congress which holds the copyright for this volume. For additional information about these archival records, please contact:

The Canadian Jewish Congress National Archives
1590 Ave. Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Que. H3G 1C5 (Canada)
telephone: 514-931-7531 ex. 2
facsimile: 514-931-0548
website: CJC - Canadian Jewish Congress

 

Re: No 78 Squadron Halifax III MZ631 (Halifax Serial number; MZ631, CODE: EY-Y)

Thank you, Andy Sager for asking the question, to Pwwbear for posting that information, and especially thanks to Kelly's Hero for the list and squadron, plane, and crew information posted above.


On this list:

on this list
Stanley Allen Rae: Flight SGT, 423420, R.N.Z.A.F. Pilot. Age 29.
Ronald Edward Miles SGT, 119282, R.A.F.V.R. Flight Engineer. Age 23.
Harry. H. Sager: Flying Officer, J29415. R.C.A.F. Navigator. Age 23.
Frank Edwin Spinks: SGT, 1625934. R.A.F.V.R. Air Gunner. Age 20.
Frederick George Colwell: SGT, 1600445. R.A.F.V.R. W.OP/ Air Gunner. Age 20.
Thomas. T. Gilmartin: SGT, 520265. R.A.F. Air Gunner. Age Unknown.

My mother-in-law's first husband has been left out (there were seven crewmen). Here is his information:

Frederick George Tomlinson, SGT, 1301516, R.A.F.V.R. Air Bomber, Age 23

His full name was Frederick George Wilson "Freddie" Tomlinson. According to correspondence to my mother-in-law (Freddie's first wife), their Halifax bomber was brought down over "Varengeville-sur-Mer (near Dieppe)", Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France, and the damaged aircraft crashed "in open country between Varengeville-sur-Mer (near Dieppe) and Longueil" -- a village 15 km to the west of Dieppe, the city larger in size and of greater logistical significance. Longueil, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France, was then simply Longueil, Oise, France. Information on the crash site was ascertained after the war during an investigation following "personal effects belonging to Sergeant. F.E. Spinks and Sergeant R.E. Miles [being] handing in to the Military Authorities at Dieppe" about the first of February, 1945. From the wreckage, the residents of Longueil retrieved the crewmen's remains and solemnly buried them in "the Longueil Communal Cemetery." (And thanks be to those who buried our war dead.)

It was reported by the investigator that "the graves have been most carefully prepared and are in a line, each having a white cross inscribed 'R.A.F. Aviateur Britannique 13 Juin, 1944'. Flowers are planted on each grave. The local officials state that Grave No. 1 is that of Sergeant Spinks. No names, however, are marked on any of the graves." (Corr. 22 June 1945). At first it was thought that only six of the crew were interred, but later (Corr. 21 Nov 1947) the graves were exhumed "and it was established that all seven crew members were buried there as follows: --

Grave 1 - Sgt. F.E. Spinks.
Grave 2 - F/Sgt. S.A. RAE.
Grave 3 - One unidentified.
Grave 4 - One unidentified.
Grave 5 - The remains of three unidentified."

A black-and-white photo of the graves, apparently taken by that investigator and with that correspondence, shows them as described, situated in the "Longeuil Communal Cemetery." The crew members buried in graves 3-5 were "collectively registered as the last resting places of your husband and his four companions." (Corr. 21 Nov 1947) The bodies were re-interred and crosses placed on the five graves. I'm not sure if the "the Longueil Communal Cemetery" is another name for Longueil Churchyard, or if the crew's remains were moved to that Churchyard when re-interred, but comparing the early black-and-white photograph and the much later color one of the Longueil Churchyard, it is seems likely that the "communal cemetery" and the churchyard are the same place.

The graves are definitely in Longueil Churchyard today with the gravestones as listed below at the Find A Grave links. In 1948, the Imperial War Graves Commission worked to erect these gravestones, and allowed family members input to declare their preferences and contribute a personal inscription if they desired. (Corr. 14 Sep 1948). This enabled the placing of the Star of David on Lieut. Harry Sager's gravestone.


Source: personal records, Air Ministry records of Mary Anderson Jones, Freddie's wife. Hers include the letter informing her that Freddie was missing, and then, over a year later, confirming his death as on 13 June 1944.



Judging by the link below (http://aircrewremembered.com/rae-stanley.html) the plane actually crashed within Longueil; if this is true, based on my mother-in-law's documents (quoted above) the "open country" must have been within municipal area of Longueil. Details often come to light some time after initial reports in any situation but particularly during wartime. Freddie's wife had all the official correspondence she received regarding the downing of the plane in which her husband was serving as a bomber, and these are now in the possession of their daughter (and a copy of them is in mine).

NOTE: Longueil should not be confused with Longueil-Sainte-Marie (163 km southeast of Dieppe). The distance between Dieppe, France (on the coast) and Longueil, France (to the west of Dieppe, and close to the coast) is only 15 km.

On Find A Grave, there are Memorials and photos of the graves of the seven crewmen (five headstones, since two were of necessity buried together twice), along with some photos of crew members, are at:

Find A Grave, Longueil Churchyard list of links:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gsr&GScid=2178257
The memorials and photos are part of the International Wargraves Photography Project, who listed the burial place as: Longueil Churchyard, Longueil. Departement de la Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France.

On Find a Grave, the following link for Sgt Frank Edwin Spinks, grave 1, shows a photo of all five gravestones in a row (of the seven crewmen of Halifax MZ631 EY-Y -- twice there are two crewmen buried together):
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2178257&GRid=14508030&
(Click on photo to enlarge). The order of gravestones is as follows: LEFT to RIGHT: first, GRAVE 1, Sgt Frank Edwin Spinks (Air Gunner); second, GRAVE 2, Sgt Stanley Allan Rae (Pilot); then the following GRAVES 3-5 COLLECTIVELY (five crewmen): third or middle gravestone, two names together Sgt Harry George Colwell (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner) (name on top) and Sgt Thomas Gilmartin (name on bottom); fourth or second to last Lieut. Harry Sager (navigator); fifth or last, two names together, Sgt Ronald Edward Miles (Flight Engineer) (name on top) and Sgt Frederick George Tomlinson (Air Bomber), (name on bottom) the last one in the row, far right. On the gravestones, inscriptions in English are all in capitals and only surnames are shown in full; given names are initials only.

See also, in particular:
Aircrewremembeered.com
http://aircrewremembered.com/rae-stanley.html
which has much more information and a map of the area, and excellent photos of the gravestones.
Gravestone photos are available there on request.


As far as I can tell, the Inscription on Lieut. Harry Sager's gravestone reads: "Flying Officer H. Sager, Navigator, Royal Canadian Air Force 13TH June 1944, Age 23."
Then there is a Star of David with Hebrew (read right to left ח נ צ ב ה
within its center. (Does anyone have a translation? Or perhaps these letters sare an acronym; if so, what do they stand for?)
[beneath Star of David] Inscription: "Our Beloved Son and Brother, So Far Away, Our Hearts Will Forever Be With You"
(Note: Inscriptions in English are all in capitals.)