403 and 421 Squadron, RCAF
We are indebted to Richard and Angie Batson for this photo of 403 and 421 Squadron, RCAF, which was found among the possessions of Nancy Downey (nee Spinks) who sadly passed away in 2022, aged 90. Her family lived in Coulsdon and she was an avid collector of local ephemera but how the photo came into her possession remains a mystery.
It seems likely that it was taken at Headcorn or Lashenden between 27th August, 1943 and 3rd September, during S/Ldr. Frank Edward “Bitsy” Grant’s brief time commanding 403 Squadron, before he was killed in action on 4th September.
403 Squadron are on the left side of the photograph and 421 are on the right.
Back Row 403 Squadron
- F/O Herbert J. Southwood
- F/Lt. Harry A. Pattison
- F/O Stanley W. Matthews
- F/O James F. Lambert
- Sgt. Norman V. Chevers
- F/O John D. Browne
- F/O Malcolm J. Gordon
Back Row 421 Squadron
- F/O Paul G. Johnson
- P/O Percy Alan MacLachlan
- F/O Alan E. “Al” Fleming
- F/Lt. Walter S. Quint
- P/O Karl R. Linton
- F/O Wilbert “Webb” Harten
- F/O C. G. “Gerry” DeNancrede
Middle Row 403 Squadron
- F/O Harry J. Dowding
- Sgt. Stanley Barnes
- W/O1 Clinton F. Rae
- F/O Thomas A. Brannagan
- F/O Robert G. Middlemiss
- F/Lt. Arthur C. Coles
- P/O Paul K. Gray
Middle Row 421 Squadron
- F/Lt. Frederick J. “Johnny” Sherlock
- P/O William F. Cook
- P/O Thurne “Tommy” Parks
- P/O John S. Hicks
- F/O Leonard R. Thorne
- F/O Ralph W. Nickerson
- F/Lt. John N. Patterson
- P/O Horace F. Packard
- F/Lt. Roger C. Wilson
Seated 403 Squadron
- F/O Joseph P. Lecoq
- F/O John Hodgson
- F/O James Preston
- P/O John A. Wilson
- F/Lt. Dean H. Dover
- F/Lt. Noel J. Ogilvie
- S/Ldr. Frank Edward “Bitsy” Grant
W/Co. James Edgar “Johnnie” Johnson DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar
Seated 421 Squadron
- S/Ldr. Robert W. “Buck” McNair
- F/Lt. Robert D “Dagwood” Phillip
- S/Ldr. Norman E. Fowlow
- P/O John A. Omand
- P/O Henry P. M. “Hank” Zary
- P/O Jack Bamford
- F/O Nick B. Dixon
- F/O Daniel K. Wilson
Front Row 403 Squadron
- Sgt. James R. MacKinnon
- F/O Livingston Foster
- F/Lt. Charles P. Thornton
- F/Lt. David Goldberg
Front Row 421 Squadron
- F/O Philip G. Musgrave
- P/O Robert “Izzy” Isbister
- F/Sgt. Ivors Forster
- F/O Johnny Drope
- F/O R. Gordon Driver
Caption information deduced from “Spitfire, The Canadians II” by Robert Bracken and the Flying For Your Life website (see link below) which both contain photographs from the same series.
Creator
RCAF Official PhotographDate of creation
27/8/1943 - 3/9/1943Contributor
Richard and Angie BatsonReference number
KRP0240Keywords
Canadian/Canada (34)
No.421 Squadron (3)
Format
Photographs (67)
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