BISSET, William McManus

NAME                BISSET       William McManus                                                                                                        RANK                 Flight Sergeant      136065                                                                                                                                         RCAF Group 6 - RAF Bomber Command                                                                                  SQUADRON      RCAF No. 427 “Lion” 
                           “strike sure”
                           RAF Croft Airfield in Yorkshire
                           Squadron markings ZL J                                                                                                      Residence          17 Nelson Street - Goderich - Ontario                                                                                              Birth                    September 30, 1921 - Goderich - County of Huron - Ontario                                                      Died                    March 30, 1943     21 years
Memorial            Runnymede Memorial - Englefield Green – Egham - Surrey - England
                           Panel 181
Parents              Mr. William and Mary Bisset - Goderich                                                                                          Sister                 Miss Claire Elizabeth Bisset - Goderich

William was born on September 30, 1921 in Colborne Township and following primary school the family lived at  17 Nelson Street in Goderich and at that time the phone number was #318. William attended primary school at SS 6 in Colborne Township from 1927-37. He attended high school at Goderich Collegiate Institute from 1937-39. He achieved his senior matriculation. Following this he attended the Ontario Agriculture College in Guelph between 1940-41. While he was attending public and high school and at the Agricultural School he worked at the family business in Saltford Heights. This was the Saltford Heights Creamery which was owned by the Bisset brothers. His job was making ice cream. Growing up he had measles, mumps, chicken pox and whooping cough. William attended Knox Presbyterian Church in Goderich. He enjoyed baseball, hockey, tennis and swimming. His hobby was stamp collecting.  He did his banking at the Bank of Commerce. His father (William) worked for many years in Saltford at the Saltford Heights Creamery and later he became the Postmaster for Goderich. He travelled to Toronto and on October 13, 1941 he enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force.

In Canada

Upon his enlistment William was 5' 8" in height and weighed 147 pounds. He had a fair complexion, had light brown hair and blue eyes. Two weeks later he arrived at No. 2 Manning Depot based at Brandon - Manitoba with the rank of Air Craftsman 2nd class.                                                                                                                        He was posted to No. 1 Air Navigation School in Trenton on January 3, 1942. On March 1st he went on to No. 1 Initial Training School at Toronto. While here he was given the rank of Leading Air Craftsman. From here he was posted to No. 1 Air Observer School in Malton on April 26th. While he was posted here he received the rank of Tactical Sergeant. During his time here he was interviewed for aircrew. The comments from the interview stated William was above average, clean, well dressed, alert, intelligent, excellent in mathematics, dependable and industrious and that he would be a good candidate for a commissioned rank. Then he was posted to the "Y" Depot in Halifax on August 30, 1942. Prior to his leaving Canada he was awarded his Air Observer Badge.

Overseas 

Tactical Sergeant Bisset departed Halifax and Canada on October 26, 1942 and arrived overseas in the United Kingdom on November 4, 1942. On November 5th he was posted to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre and then was posted to No. 22 Operational Training Unit on November 24th based at Wellesbourne Mountford - Warwickshire which flew Vickers Wellington and Avro Anson bombers. While William was here he received the rank of Flight Sergeant. 

In the Field                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  His final posting was to RCAF No. 427 Squadron on March 15, 1943. The Squadron was based at Croft - Yorkshire. Flight Sergeant Bisset was with 427 Squadron for two weeks and at this point the squadron was preparing for a mission against Germany.                                                                                                              The target for this raid of March 29-30 was Bochum in the Ruhr area in Germany. Bochum was a city where weapons for the German war effort were manufactured. There were also coal mines and steel factories in Bochum. At 7:50 pm on the evening of March 29th “P” Wellington HE 744 lifted off the runway. This aircraft was carrying 2-500 pound bombs and 450-4 pound Incendiaries for a bomb load of 2,800 pounds. This raid was a failure with the night being moonless and cloudy with some aircraft not adhering to their timetable and with long gaps in the sky-markings. 157 aircraft took part in the raid with with 8 Mosquitos and 149 Wellingtons. Wellington HE 744 was reported missing with no trace ever being located and this aircraft along with 11 others were lost. Wellington HE 744 had a crew of five. The Ruhr area was heavily populated and there was very heavy industry production in this part of Germany.                                                                                                                     Since there has never been any wreckage found in Belgium, the Netherlands or Germany suggests that Wellington HE 744 was shot down over the North Seas or the English Channel. 

In June of 1945, his mother Mary received the Memorial Cross. In the month of July 1946 the Bisset family received the medals awarded to Williams and these were the 1939-45 Star, the Air Crew Europe Star, the War Medal and the 1939-45 Star.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                William is honoured and remembered on the Goderich - Ontario Cenotaph. He is honoured and remembered on the Memorial Plaques of Goderich Collegiate and Knox Presbyterian Church. He is honoured and remembered on the Memorial Plaque of Group 6 - RCAF Bomber Command Museum. He is honoured and remembered on the Virtual Canadian War Memorial. He is honoured and remembered on RCAF 427 WWII Casualty list.