RCAF

CALDER, John Phillip Sargent

War
2nd Word War
Date of Birth
Date Attested
Attested at
Toronto - Ontario
Regimental Number
4695
Rank
Flight Lieutenant
Date of Death
Age at Death
29 years 5 months
Biographical Summary

NAME                CALDER       John Phillip Sargent                                                                                                                               Royal Canadian Air Force
RANK                 Flight Lieutenant / Air Navigator    4695                                                                                                                     Group 8 - RAF Bomber Command                                                                                      SQUADRON      RAF 571 Squadron
                           RAF Oakington Airfield in Cambridgeshire
                           Squadron markings 8 K                                                                                                            Residence          Toronto - Ontario                                                                                                                        Birth                    February 4, 1915 - Regina - Saskatchewan                                                                              Died                    July 21, 1944     29 years   5 months
Cemetery            Kiel War Cemetery - Nordfriedhof – Kiel - Schleswig-Holstein - Germany
                            I H 20
Parents               Mr. Archibald and Mary Agnes Calder - Goderich / Owen Sound - Ontario                                    Brothers             James and Philip were both serving overseas with the Canadian Army.                                  Sisters                Mrs. Mary Mason - Owen Sound and Marjorie Calder - Toronto

John was born on February 4, 1915 in Regina Saskatchewan. His father was a minister with the Anglican Church of Canada and the family moved to Goderich to St George's Anglican Church. Later in the war his parents moved to Owen Sound to St. George's Anglican Church. He took his primary schooling at Central Goderich School. Growing up he had the measles, mumps and whooping cough. It is believed he took one year of high school in Goderich before he moved to Chatham and attended Chatham Collegiate Institute for four years. While there he received his honours matriculation in eight papers. In addition, he was a member of the Army Cadet Corps for four years. His hobbies were sports coaching, reading and writing. He enjoyed sports and played hockey, basketball, soccer, baseball, track and rugby.  He worked for the Chatham Daily News for 3 years as sports editor and a reporter. He then moved to Toronto and worked for the Canadian press for 4 years. 

In Canada

When John enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force in Toronto on May 13, 1940 he was 6' in height and he weighed 144 pounds. Upon his enlistment he was given the rank of Air Craftsman II and sent to No. 1 Manning Depot in Toronto. It was here they learned to shave, bathe, shine boots, polish buttons, maintain their uniforms and behave in the proper manner. As well each day there was two hours of physical education, marching drill, rifle drill, foot drill, saluting and other routines. Prior to his leaving he met with a committee who decided that he was best suited for "pilot" aircrew. On May 27, 1940, he was posted to No. 1 Initial Training School in Toronto where he would spend four weeks. He studied theoretical subjects and was subject to tests. The tests included speaking with a psychiatrist, a 4 hour long physical examination, a session in a decompression chamber and a test flight in a Link Trainer. He was then posted on June 21st to No. 3 Elementary Flying Training School in London. Here he would receive 50 hours of instruction on the Fleet Finch II over 8 weeks. While here he was given the rank of Leading Air Craftsman. On On August 27th he was posted back to No. 1 Manning Depot and then three weeks later was posted to No. 1 Air Observer School based at Malton. He would learn that the basic navigation techniques were dead reckoning, visual pilotage and all the while using the aeronautical charts, magnetic compass, watch, trip log, Douglas protractor, the Dalton Navigational Computer and of course the pencil.  His training was on the Avro Anson. He was graded on Officer qualities and on this segment he obtained a score of 275 out of 300 with an average of 91.7%. His next posting was to Jarvis to No. 1 Bombing and Gunnery School on December 12, 1940. Here he would learn the techniques of bomb aiming along with aerial gunnery. He did his training on the Fairey Battle.                                                                                                    On January 18, 1941 he was promoted to the rank of Tactical Sergeant and given his Air Observer Badge and posted to No. 1 Advanced Air Navigation School in Rivers - Manitoba. On February 18th he received the rank of Pilot Officer. He was ordered to the Embarkation Pool Overseas Depot located at Debert - Nova Scotia on March 12th. 

Overseas

Pilot Officer Calder then departed Canada for overseas on April 6, 1941 and arrived in England and he is posted to Uxbridge to Overseas Head Quarters. On May 19 he is posted to RAF No. 21 Operational Training Unit based at RAF Uxbridge located in the London borough of Hillingdon.  From this point up until February 1943 there are no records available telling us of his movements in that period of time.                                                                    Pilot Officer Calder was given the rank of Flight Lieutenant on February 25, 1943. At some point he was posted to No 10 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit based at RAF Dumfries at the Heathhall airfield - Dumfries and Galloway - Scotland. During the night of August 8-9 the flying on this night was to be two cross-country flights. Pilot Officer Calder took a seat on the rear spar of Avro Anson DJ 222 and on these flights was the 2nd Navigator On the outbound leg he was not able to take any astro shots due to heavy cloud. He was able to read beacons along the coastline of the Solway for the Navigator and map-reader.  Early on the second leg of their cross country flight the aircraft began to fall in the cloud as if the pilot had lost control of the aircraft. Pilot Officer Calder began to move foward but by that time the pilot seemed to have control of his aircraft. Then, the pilot put the nose down to avoid more heavy cloud in his flight path. He then began moving to where the 1st Navigator was sitting as he was concerned about height the aircraft was flying and immediately after this the aircraft crashed.      When the aircraft left the runway the winds were very light out of the south-west with 90% cloud cover. The ceiling was 2,000 feet and the visibilty was 10-12 miles. When the aircraft crashed the aircraft was in heavy cloud and the winds were very strong with heavy downdrafts. They crashed into Green Gable at 02:00 which was at Borrowdale - Cumberland. Pilot Officer Calder woke up in Fusehill Military Hospital - Carlsile with a compound fracture of his lower jaw, lacerations on his left knee and there were face lacerations. He would need plastic surgery. He then was moved to Queen Victoria Hospital - East Grinstead - Suxxex - England for further treatment on August 13th.

In the Field                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   At some point which his service file does not indicate he was posted to RAF 571 Squadron based at Oakington - Cambridgeshire and they flew the Mosquito Mk XVI. Their mission was to carry out independent raids on enemy industrial targets and would carry a a single 4,000 pound "cookie bomb". During the early morning of July 21st Mosquito B Mk XVI ML984 8K lifted off the run way at Oakington at 0:17 am on a mission to Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany and having the largest port in Europe. Hamburg was the target because of the port facilities and      U-boat yards. As well there were aircraft factories, machinery plants and shipyards which produced 1/3 of the German Navy U-boats and the crude oil plants producing 28% of the German needs. He was the Navigator on this mission. As they approached the target he was in his bombing position with his dinghy behind his regular seat. After the aircraft was hit by enemy marine flak he was unable to reach the dinghy behind him and had to leave the aircraft without it as the plane was burning. Flight Lieutenant Calder was able to bail out of his crippled aircraft first with wounds in both legs and without his dingy. Their aircraft crashed at 02:19 in the Elbe Estuary near Brunsbettel on the north shore bank of the Elbe. His body washed ashore a time later on September 15, 1944. He died from drowning. During this raid 106 aircraft from training units were sent out and made sweeps over the North Sea. This squadron was a light bomber unit and was mainly engaged in the bombing of German industrial centres and in particular Berlin. It also performed mine laying operations. Flight Lieutenant Calder was originally buried in a cemetery at Brunsbuettelkoog - Schleswig-Holstein - Germany on the north shore of the River Elbe.    On June 2, 1945 a letter to the Department of National Defence for Air from the Canadian Casualty Branch as mailed to Mr. and Mrs. Calder. The letter states that once Flight Lieutenant Thompson was liberated he asked for information about his Navigator. F/L Thompson explains that they were hit by flak off target Hamburg and P/O Calder was wounded and left the aircraft first. He said P/O Calder was in the bombing position and therefore left his dingy on the seat behind and as the aircraft was burning he had no time to secure his dingy. P/O Calder had his mae west and knew his Navigator was wounded but he did not know how serious. F/L Thompson thinks Calder must have landed in the Elbe Estuary closer to land than Thompson who landed 2 miles from shore and was picked up 6 hours later by a German fishing boat. F/L Thompson stated that when he bailed out the burning aircraft was heading toward the sea. In closing, the letter stated that F/L Thompson was going to write Mr. and Mrs. Calder.                                                                                                                                                             

John's mother Agnes received the Memorial Cross in March of 1946. John was awarded the 39-45 Star, the Aircrew Europe Star, the France Germany Star, the Defence Medal, the General Service Medal and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal which the family received in January of 1947.

John is honoured and remembered on the Goderich - Ontario Cenotaph. As well he is honoured and remembered on the Memorial Plaque of St. George's Anglican Church - Goderich - Ontario. He is honoured and remembered on the Memorial Plaques of Goderich Collegiate and Chatham Collegiate. He is honoured and remembered on the Virtual Canadian War Memorial. He may well be honoured and remembered on the Chatham Cenotaph.

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