Mystery picture found near site of Canadian plane crash in Wales...who is he?

[dennford]

I have spent quite sometime on this site which archives Canadian news reports during the war yet it seems strange that our boys weren't listed among the R.C.A.F. lists of war dead, in fact there appears to be no report in any of the papers?

[dennford]

I have spent quite sometime on this site

http://tinyurl.com/cyfba

which archives Canadian news reports during the war yet it seems strange that our boys weren't listed among the R.C.A.F. lists of war dead, in fact there appears to be no report in any of the papers?

[Janice M]

Hi Caroline

I sent the city of Bathurst, New Brunswick, an e-mail. I hope you don't mind, but I also sent copies of the photo's. I have told them your story, and hopefully they will get back to me.

The more I look at the photo's, the more convinced I am that the photo is of either J.P. Ernest Burke, or a relative. The photo of the crew, specifically centers on Ernest, and they have the same hair, facial features, etc. in both photos.

Because the city of Bathurst only has one Burke family living there, and that is exactly where J.P.E. Burke was from, I thought that it was a very good possibility that this was a family member.

Because I have written to them, during business hours, I am hoping to hear from them either today or tomorrow. I will let you know as soon as I do.

Janice

[Caroline_d]

Janice, I emailed New Brunswick Provincial Archives etc last night....site is below, is this the same one you emailed?

http://archives.gnb.ca/Archives/Default.aspx?L=EN

I had a standard email reply saying it could take 2 to 3 weeks for any research questions.  Maybe as you're a "native" you might get something back quicker.

Denn, you have put in some hours on this....it is strange that there is no record at all on them so far.  You'd think that there would be some information besides just the entry in the WW2 Book of Remembrance 

[Janice M]

Hi Caroline,

The site I e-mailed, is their municipal government office. I gave them the name and address of the Burke family living there, along with the phone number. I figured that elected officials might want to do a good deed. I have not heard anything back, but I figure they will get back to me within a few days at most. If not, I can send them another message. Most if not all of our communities here do a Remembrance Day service, and I thought that this would be a good 'Human Interest' story for them.

I will let you know as soon as I hear from them.

Janice

[Caroline_d]

I've found an article where  Senator Earl Scofield was interviewed for Mets Voyager ......I can't seem to paste it...but in it he talk about his time in the Canadian Air force and that his 4  brothers served in WW2.  It says that 2 step brothers were Henry and Jules Villeneuve, Henry was a soldier and Jules was in the Canadian Air Force and is buried in England (so it's worth a follow up as he may be able to identify the line-up of the crew...at least point out Jules).

http://www.metisnation.org/metisVOYAGEUR/mv05may.pdf

scroll to page 11 for his story (it's on the right column)

I'm trying to find an email or contact details for him.  Janice, is this someone you've heard of?

I thought to post in case anyone else has come across him and I didn't want to double up on info sent to him.

[RobHam]

On Remembrance Sunday 13th November,  the West Glamorgan Ramblers and Gower Society are conducting a joint walk (strenuous and about 10 miles) in the Black Mountains to visit at least one of the Aircraft Wreck sites as part of there standard walks program.   Not too sure if they intend taking in this particular wreck (there are three or four others). 

If anyone wants more details then PM me.   I have a contact phone number for the Walks leader who can give more details.

[dennford]

Caroline here is the piece that you couldn't paste, being a step brother, it may be that Ville's remaining family are called Schofield

When I turned 18, I volunteered for the
Royal Canadian Air Force, and took the
oath of allegiance with 26 other men at the
theater in Timmins, Ontario. I went to Edmonton;
Mount Joli, Quebec; attended
McGill University in pre-air crew training
for the Air Force and graduated from the
crew course. Next I went to Three Rivers,
Quebec; Montreal; and Lachine, then to
England to train on two engine Wellington
bombers, then to a heavy conversion unit
to train on Halifax four engine bombers.
When that was completed we were sent to
active duty on squadrons of Halifax
bombers. This bomber weighed 35 tons
when loaded with bombs, seven to eight
men, and 2200 gallons of 100 octane gas. I
completed 17 missions over Germany
bombing targets mostly at night. I was
posted to 415 Swordfish Squadron at Eastmoor,
Yorkshire. My mother’s brother
Roger Chartrand, from The Pas, Manitoba,
was at the same base but he was at 432
Squadron called Leaside. During these war
years there were four Scofield brothers in
uniform and on active duty over seas. My
brother Cecil is buried in Belgium. My two
step brothers were also in the service.
Henry Villeneuve was in the army, and
Jules Villeneuve was in the Air force; he is
buried in England.On January 4, 1945, while attempting to
take off for a bombing mission, we left the
runway and passed between stockpiles of
bombs. At a speed of over 100 miles per
hour, we crashed into the trees on the far
side of the air drome. At impact, I was
thrown out of the tail turret and flew
through the air and landed on a fallen tree.
I had hurt my legs and my back. I was
blown right out of my flight boots, but got
up and ran until my legs could no longer
support me. Our bomber exploded and
burned up. All of our crew got out with
only burns and minor injuries. On C

                                 Denn

[Caroline_d]

Thanks Denn,

The Villeneuve family were the first I found on the Net.  There is a large family web site going back hundreds of years.  They all have reference to the racing drivers Jacques and Gilles etc.  It was on one of the sites that I found Jules Villeneuve and the information about his crash.  His parents and family going back generations were listed.  I thought I'd get lucky but I'd emailed the web masters for on both sites a few times and never received a reply.

http://www.geocities.com/MathurinVilleneuve/

They concentrate on the Villeneuve and Amoyt sections of the family.  I was hoping in the beginning someone would have information but it was not to be.

I've sent an email which hopefully should find it's way to Earl Scofield...fingers crossed!