DURNIN, Graham William

NAME                    DURNIN           Graham William
RANK                    Pilot Officer / Air Gunner           186328                                                                                                                      RAF Bomber Command - Group 6                                                                                      SQUADRON         RCAF No. 426 “Thunderbird” City of Regina
                              “on wings of fire”
                              Linton-on-Ouse airfield in Yorkshire
                              Squadron Markings OW O                                                                                                      Born                       August 14, 1923 - Vancouver - British Columbia                                                                          Residence             Hamilton - Ontario                                                                                                                      Died                       June 6, 1944          20 years   9 months
Cemetery              Brookwood Military Cemetery - Brookwood - Surrey - England
                              49 G 8
Stepmother           Fanny Gray Durnin - Goderich.                                                                                            Brothers                Pilot Officer Alan Durnin serving overseas with RCAF Squadron No. 408                                                                  Ordinary Seaman serving in Halifax at HMCS Cornwallis.                                                                                          Mr. Lindsay Durnin - Goderich - Ontario                                                                                Sisters                   Mrs. Lewis MacHardy - Goderich - Ontario                                                                                                                Mrs. C. D. Robson - Hamilton - Ontario

Graham was born on August 14, 1923 in Vancouver. He took his public schooling in Goderich from 1930-36 and then attended Goderich District Collegiate Institute from 1936-39. He grew up in Dungannon and the family would have attended Dungannon United Church. He liked to play hockey and baseball. Prior to enlistment he was employed in Hamilton by Adam Clark and was a plumbers assistant and steam fitter.

Canada

Graham enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force on September 2, 1942 in Hamilton and received the rank of Aircraftsman 2. At the time he was 5' 9" and weighed 143 pounds. He had a fair complexion with blue eyes and fair hair. He then made the short trip to Toronto to the No. 1 Manning Depot for approximately 7 weeks. On October 24 he was posted to No. 14 Service Flying Training School in Aylmer - Ontario.                                       As 1943 arrived he was still in Aylmer but on January 5 his next posting sent him to No. 4 Wireless School in Guelph where he obtained the rank of Leading Aircraftsman. His average was 74% and he placed 82 in a class of 98. On July 10 it was off to No. 1 Bombing and Gunnery School in Jarvis - Ontario where he obtained the rank of Flight Sergeant and earned his Wireless Operator Badge and Air Gunner Badge. His average was 86% in ground training and 78% in ground training. His next move was to No. 1 "Y" Depot in Halifax in preparations for duty overseas. 

Overseas

On September 13 he was assigned to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre in Bournemouth - Dorset and the same day departed from Canada for overseas. Flight Sergeant Durnin disembarked in the United Kingdom on September 19 and the next day reported to NO. 3 PRC. His first posting overseas was to RAF Millom - Cumbria to No. 2 Observer Advanced Flying Unit on October 19. Then in the middle of December he was posted to No. 22 Operational Training Unit based at RAF Wellesbourne Mountford - Warwickshire.                                                Then on March 24, 1944 he was posted to RAF Topcliffe to RCAF 61 Base and from there he was posted to         RCAF No. 426 Sqadron based at Linton-0n-Ouse in North Yorkshire.

In the Field

All squadrons were confined to their bases on June 5, 1944 in anticipation of a maximum effort that night. The atmosphere was charged with excitement with all personnel talking about and discussing tactics, timings and targets.
All aircraft from the Squadron had been detailed for this mission on June 6, 1944. Each aircraft was loaded with 7 – 1,000 lb. bombs plus 6-8 - 500 lb. bombs for a total bomb loard of 10,000-11,000 lbs..
The mission was against a coastal battery at Boulogne Sur Mer on the eastern flank of the invasion area near
the Trouville and Houlgate area of Normandy about 15 miles northeast of Caen.
Pilot Officer Durnin who was the wireless operator and his crew in Halifax LW 382 Q had lifted off the tarmac from Linton-on-Ouse Airfield at 1:59 am and had been airborne only a short while when it suddenly blew up
1 mile south of North Wooten Bombing Range in Norfolk. The wreckage fell near the North Woolston
Railway Station at 2:43 am which was close to RAF base Bircham Newton. When the remains of the aircraft struck the ground a number of unexploded bombs on board blew up sending wreckage over a wide area.
When it blew up the aircraft was in the right place in the sky, it should have been at 8,500 feet flying
southeast but the aircraft was flying northwest with all navigation lights on about 2 minutes before the
explosion. Witnesses also reported seeing first, a glow from inside the aircraft, then a flash with the sound
of an explosion being heard. This aircraft had only 160.15 hours in the air.
Pilot Officer Durnin suffered fatal multiple injuries and burns.

It is possible that one or more bombs fell from where they were held onto the bomb bay door.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Pilot Officer Durnin's stepmother received the Memorial Cross in August of 1945 and then some time later received the medals awarded to graham which included the 1939-45 Star, the Aircrew Europe Star, the Defence and War Medals and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with clasp.

Graham is honoured and remembered on both the Goderich and Lucknow Cenotaphs as well as on the Memorial Plaques of Dungannon United Church and Goderich Collegiate. He is honoured and remembered in the Books of Remembrance found in the Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament and on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. He is honoured and remembered on the RCAF No. 426 Squadron Memorial at RAF ww2 base Linton-0n-Ouse and on the RCAF Bomber Command Memorial.