PASSMORE, Gerald Leroy

NAME                    PASSMORE          Gerald Leroy
RANK                    Flying Officer         Royal Canadian Air Force           35987                                                                                        No. 83 Group - RAF Fighter Command - RCAF 143 Wing - 2nd Tactical Air Force     
SQUADRON         No. 440 “Red Bat” City of Ottawa Squadron
                              “he who protects the Saguenay”
                              Eindhoven Airfield in Belgium
                              Squadron Markings 18                                                                                                          Born                      July 31, 1923 - Hensall - Townships of Hay / Tuckersmith - County of Huron - Ontario      Residence             Hensall - Ontario                                                                                                                          Died                       February 2, 1945          21 years  6 months
Cemetery               Reichswald Forest War Cemetery - Kleve - Reichswald Forest - Rhine Westphalia - Germany
                              12   D   16
Parents                  Mr. John and Olive Passmore - Hensall - Ontario                                                            Brothers                 Both Charles and Wilbur were in Hensall - Ontario                                                                                                    Robert lived in Melita - Manitoba                                                                                                                                Both Albert and Lloyd lived in Delhi- Ontario                                                                      Sisters                   Mrs. Gladys Elder lived in Hamilton - Ontario                                                                                                              Mrs. Zetta McLean lived in Hamilton - Ontario

Gerald was born in Hensall in 1923 on July 31, 1923. He attended Hensall Public School from 1929-36. He went to Hensall Continuation School and Exeter High School from 1936-41. He enjoyed playing hockey and baseball and did a lot of reading and liked to ski in the winter months. He also liked swimming, rugby, motoring and mechanics. He and his family attended Hensall United Church. Growing up he had the measles.

Canada
                                                                                                                                                                                Four days following his 18th birthday he traveled to London and enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force. This was on August 4, 1941. When he enlisted he stood 5' 10" and weighed 150 pounds. He had a medium complexion with blue eyes and brown hair. He was and Aircraftsman 2 and was posted to No. 1 Manning Depot in Toronto. He was next posted to No. 1 Composite Training School from August 21-September 25 in Trenton. Between September 26-November 22 he was posted to No.5 Initial Training School and here he had an average of 78% and placed 101 out of a  class of 150. He had received the rank of Leading Aircraftsman. From November 23-January 31,1942 he was at St. Eugene at No. 13 Elementary Flying Training School.                                      In the first month of 1942 LAC Passmore was still at St Eugene and while here had an average of 79% and placed 8 out of a class of 12. He was then posted to Uplands in Ottawa from February 1-June 7 at No. 2 Service Flying Training School. He received the rank of Sergeant while here and also received his Pilot Flying Badge. His next posting from June 8-September 30 took him west to Mossbank - Saskatchewan to No. 2 Bombing and Gunnery School. On October 1 his next posting took him to Western Air Command - No. 2 Group headquartered in Victoria. He was assigned to No. 135 Squadron flying Hurricane MkIIIs from Patricia Bay from October 1, 1942-August 16, 1943. In December he received the ranks of Flight Sergeant and then Warrent Officer 2 and then Pilot Officer. This squadron protected the west coast of Canada from any Japanese attacks.                      On August 17, 1943 No. 135 Squadron was moved to Annette Island - Alaska until November 17 at which time it was based at Terrace - British Columbia.                                                                                                          No.135 Squadron was here until March 10,1944 and at that time it moved to Patricia Bay. Pilot Officer Passmore was given the rank of Flying Officer and on May 10 was give the order to go to No. 1 "Y" Depot in Halifax.

Overseas

On May 25, 1944 Flying Officer Passmore embarked from Halifax and disembarked in the United Kingdom on June 2. On June 3 he reported to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre and he was here until he was posted to    No. 27 Operational Training Unit on August  3. No. 27 OTU was based at RAF Lichfield - Staffordshire and here the training took place in the night on the Wellington bomber. On August 8 he moved to his next posting at No. 57 Operational Training Unit and here he trained on single engine aircraft at RAF Hawarden - Flintshire - Wales. While here his ground training average was 83% and his flying tests were 65%. While training here he made a very hard landing due to inexperience and burst a tire on the Spitfire he was flying. On October 13 Pilot Officer Passmore was posted to No. 3 Tactical Exercise Unit with Group 81 based at RAF Chedworth - Glouchestershire.  He trained here on the Mustang and the Typhoon. On November 13 he was then posted to No. 2 Tactical Air Force - 83 Group Support Unit. - RAF Bognor - Sussex. These were holding units for operational squadrons. He was only here for a short period of time before he was posted to RCAF No. 440 Squadron.

In the field

The 2nd Tactical Air Force was in support of the British / Canadian ground forces. They were deemed to be
necessary and essential to successfully invade northwest Europe. They had their own fighters, fighter bombers,
medium bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and night fighters. Because of the short ranges the fighter units and fighter-bomber units would have to be prepared to move quickly to hastily prepared bases close to the front as our ground troops advanced.
On this mission of February 2, 1945 he was airborne at 09:30 hours and crashed one hour later at 10:30 hours.
His final mission was a rail - cutting mission to Legden in Germany. F/O Passmore was strafing railway
locomotives of the Dulmen-Munster Railway on his way back to base. His Typhoon PD 493 was shot down after having its tail blown off by German flak at 300-400'. This was 17 miles southeast of Enschede in Holland. His burning aircraft hit the ground at a high speed near Coesfield in Germany and slid into a partially filled ditch. Because of the fire and smoke his wingman was not able to see if he had got out of his aircraft safely. He did escape his burning plane with the help of a German farmer and his helper.                                                  Typhoon PD 493 crashed near Legden and F/O Passmore was taken into custody three days following the crash and taken to the village and a local priest stated that after the crash F/O Passmore was humorous and in good spirits. A German officer and a Luftwaffe Corporal arrived to take him to the airfield at Rehiene for interrogation
and then to a POW transit camp. The escort was known to the priest as the former sexton of the cathedral
and was anti-Nazi. F/O Passmore never arrived at Rheine and the corporal escort and his family were taken away never to be heard from again. It is also believed that this German corporal had assisted British POWs as they tried to escape. The transit POW camp was at Handorf and one lady who married a Canadian and had been there since 1938 stated that F/O Passmore did not reach the camp. It is believed F/O Passmore was killed during an escape attempt and that the only person who would be able to confirm this had disappeared along with his family. Flying Officer Passmore was originally buried in St. Jacobi Cemetery in Coesfeld - Germany about 14 miles from the Dutch border. Flying Officer was known to his squadron mates as "Deke".
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• The Typhoon was originally designed as an interceptor but it had a very unreliable engine at high altitudes.
However, as a low - level bomber it was a superb aircraft and along with its strength and firepower it was
the ideal fighter/bomber. It was renowned for its ground-attack capabilities and was armed with 4 – 20mm
cannons and carried either bombs or rockets. It was capable of destroying any enemy armour on the ground.
• On this mission he would have carried either 500 - pound bombs or 1,000 - pound bombs as this was most
likely have been a low - level mission. Accuracy is much higher at lower levels. He and his wingman would
probably have approached at 8,000 feet and when about 15 miles out they would begin to drop and at the
same time build up speed.. When the target was sighted they would have made straight for the target and
attacked at about a 25/30 degree angle. They would release their bombs at roof top level where the bombs
would hit and not skip along the ground. After his attack F/O would have directed the attack for the
remaining aircraft.
• The usual battle formation would have been 8 aircraft in two sections with the second section up or down
300 feet and 300 yards out according to where the sun was.
• F/O Passmore has 27 ½ hours in the air and had completed 21 sorties.

Mrs Olive Passmore during the month of February 1946 received the Memorial Cross. In February 1947 Flying Officer Passmore was issued the 1939-45 Star, the France-Germany Star, the War Medal and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and clasp.

In February 1947 the mother of Flying Officer Passmore received her son's Operational Wings.

Flying Officer Passmore is honoured and remembered on the Hensall Cenotaph and on the Memorial Plaque of Hensall United Church. He is also remembered in the Books of Remembrance in the Centre Block on Parliament Hill and on the Virtual Canadian War Memorial and on www.canadianfallen.ca/107982/PASSMORE.
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