HUETHER, Harold Logan

NAME                   HUETHER      Harold Logan
RANK                   Warrant Officer 2nd             131974                                                                          
SQUADRON        RAF No 9 
                             “throughout the night we fly”
                             Group 5           RAF Bomber Command
                             Waddington Airfield in Lincolnshire
                             Squadron Markings WS J     JP                                                                                              Born                      August 21, 1921 - Cranbrook - Township of Grey - County of Huron                              Residence            Calgary - Alberta                                                                                                                    Died                      April 10, 1943       21 years   7 months                                                                            Memorial              Runnymede Memorial - Englefield Green – Egham - Surrey - England
                             Panel 180
Parents                 Mr. John and Celia Huether - Brussels / Walton                                                                            Brothers                Douglas and Leonard borth lived at Brussels on the family homestead                              Sisters                  Mrs. Gordon Saunders - Detroit - Michigan - USA                                                                                                     Mrs. Allan Searle - Walton - Ontario

Harold grew up in the Brussels area and enjoyed hockey, swimming, baseball and tennis and softball. His family attended Melville Presbyterian Church. Growing up he had scarlet fever and the measles. He attended public school in Brussels 1928-1934 and attended high school at the Brussels Continuation School from 1934-1936 and he left school after completing two years. Upon completing school he worked for his dad for 4 years on the family farm from 1936-1940. He then travelled to Galt and worked for a year 1940-41 at Loblaws as a grocery clerk at Jenkins Groceteria. 

Canada

Then, for whatever reason he travelled to Calgary and enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force on October 21, 1941 receiving the rank of Aircraftsman 2. At that time he stood 5' 5" tall and weighed 124 pounds. He had a medium complexion with blue eyes and brown hair. He then stayed at the Recruitment Centre until November 9 when he was posted to No. 3 Manning Depot in Edmonton.                                                                                  On January 18, 1942 he was posted to No. 8 Bombing and Gunnery School located at Lethbridge - Alberta. He placed 8 in a class of 20 with a 62% average. Here he received the rank of Sergeant. Then on February 12 he was assigned to No. 1 Y Depot in Halifax in preparation for going overseas. On February 16 he received his Air Gunner Badge, On March 12 he volunteered for the RAF Training Pool.

Overseas

Sergeant Huether then embarked from Canada on March 13 arriving and disembarking in the United Kingdom on March 23. One day later he reported to Bournemouth to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre. He was here for a period of time before being assigned to RAF No. 7 Air Gunner School based at RAF Stormy Down - Pyle - Bridgend - Wales. Following his time here he was then posted to RAF No. 29 Operational Training Unit based at RAF Luffenham - Rutland on June 29.It was while he was here he received the rank of Flight Sergeant.  At the end of August he was then posted to RAF 49 Squadron Conversion Flight based at Scampton - Lincolnshire. It was then onto his next posting which was to RAF 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit on September 4 based at RAF Wigsley - Nottinghamshire. Five weeks later on October 10, 1942 Sergeant Huether was then assigned to his unit RAF No. 9 Squadron based at RAF Waddington - Lincolnshire. When he arrived the Squadron has just converted to the Lancaster Bomber. He was given the rank of Warrant Officer 2.

In the Field

The target for this mission of April 9/10 was Duisburg, which was the main outlet for the Rhine River. This was a strategic target because of its chemical, steel and iron industries.
Warrant Officer Huether and his fellow crewmembers were in Lancaster ED 566 WS/J JP – Jig and this
aircraft was very new and had only 85 hours of flying time on it. It had completed 9 missions and they lifted
off from Waddington at 20:46 hours on April 9, 1943. The average age of this crew was 23 years. There was very thick cloud over the target and when this aircraft was lost only one crew member was located and all of the crew perished. There was no trace of the rest of the crew. Our research shows that Warrant Officer Huether was either the mid upper gunner or the tail gunner.                                                                                                                       Our research also indicated Lancaster ED 566 was shot down on the return leg to base following the attack on the target. We know the aircraft crashed into the North Sea 40 miles west of the Dutch municipality of Alkmaar. The pilot of the German Bf 110 G-r was Feldwebel Heinz Vinke who was a night fighter ace flying with II.NJG 1 flying out of the German Luftwaffe base at Venlo in Holland.                                                                                    In the month of June 1944, Mrs. Huether received the Memorial Cross. Warrant Officer 2 Huether was awarded the 1939-45 Star, the Aircrew Europe Star, the Defence Medal, the War Medal and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with clasp. Then in July of 1946 Mrs Huether received the Operational Wings that had been awarded to her son.                                                                                                                                      Harold is honoured and remembered on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, on the Brussels Cenotaph, on the Memorial Plaque of the RCAF Bomber Command Memorial and on the Memorial Plaque of Melville Presbyterian School