Archive Report: Allied Forces

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17.03.1944 No. 32 Operational Training Unit Dakota III MFL650 Sgt. Oliver

Operation: Training

Date: 17th March 1944 (Friday)

Unit: No. 32 Operational Training Unit

Type: Dakota III

Serial: FL650

Code: Not issued

Base: East Camp - Patricia Bay, Vancouver Island

Location: Lost without trace

Pilot: Sgt. Douglas Oliver 1565344 RAFVR Age 23. Missing - believed killed

Obs: P/O. John Benedict Murphy 55294 RAFVR Age 26. Missing - believed killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. Roy Alexander Hodge NZ/413756 RNZAF Age 25. Missing - believed killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Fl/Sgt. Hodge posted to 32 OTU as he had evaded capture earlier when the Stirling III BF350 was shot down over Belgium. 6 of his fellow crew members were killed, 1 taken PoW and he evaded capture. Further information can be found here.

They took off on a night navigational exercise at 19:40 hrs. They were last in contact at 21:58 hrs and despite many searches made, no trace of the crew or aircraft were found. It is understood that two oxygen cylinders found within the Pearse Islands recovered later and these were of the same type carried by this aircraft.

In June 2017 Victoria International Airport unveiled a beautiful memorial to the 132 service personnel who lost their lives whist at Patricia Airbase. The main feature of this sculptural work will be 25 x 12 foot high Corten Steel Cooper’s Hawk Feathers. The Cooper’s Hawk is a predator known for its extraordinary agility in flight and ferocity in hunting. The names of the lost airmen have been water jet cut into the feathers.

The video of the dedication:

Ottawa Memorial - a larger photograph is available for the panel that this crew are listed on - please contact us for a free copy.

Burial details:

Sgt. Douglas Oliver. Ottawa Memorial. Panel 3. Column 3. Son of Tom Pattison Oliver and Mary Ethel Oliver, of Blackhill, Co. Durham, England.

Obs: P/O. John Benedict Murphy. Ottawa Memorial. Panel 3. Column 2. Son of Michael and Sarah Murphy, of Erris, Co. Mayo, Irish Republic.

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. Roy Alexander Hodge. Ottawa Memorial. Panel 3. Column 5. Born on the 16th June 1918, the son of Peter Frankland Hodge and Ella Hodge, of Wellington City, New Zealand, husband of Germaine (née Adam) Hodge, of St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada and father to Sandra. His wife, Germaine never remarried and passed away in 1966. At the time of his death Fl/Sgt. Hodge had 466 hours flying experience and completed 17 operations.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to the great late Henk Welting and many others on the RAF Commands Forum also to the research by Errol Martyn and his publications: “For Your Tomorrow Vols. 1-3”, Auckland War Memorial Museum, other sources as quoted.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
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