McQUILLIN, George Andrew

NAME                    McQUILLIN          George Andrew
RANK                    Flying Officer                                                                                                                                                                RAF Bomber Command - Group 6 - RCAF 61 Base                                                            SQUADRON         RCAF No. 426 “Thunderbird”
                              “on wings of fire”
                              RAF Dishforth Airfield in Yorkshire
                              Squadron Markings OW                                                                                                            Born                      November 11, 1908 - Lucknow - Townships of Ashfield/West Wawanosh - County of Huron                                                                                         Township of Kinloss - County of Bruce                                      Residence            Bapaume - Saskatchewan                                                                                                              Died                      January 14, 1943          34 years   2 months
Merial                   Runnymede Memorial - Englefield Green – Egham - Surrey - England
                             Panel 174                                                                                                                          Brothers               Private Charles McQuillin serving on 1st Canadian Hospital Ship Lady Nelson                                                         Mr. Robert McQuillin of Hamilton - Ontario                                                                                                                 Mr. William McQuillin of Lucknow - Ontario
Sisters                  Miss Beatrice McQuillin of St. Helens - Ontario                                                                                                           Mrs. Mildred Purdon of Lucknow - Ontario                                                                                     
George was from Lucknow and was born on November 11, 1908. He would have attended Lucknow Anglican Church growing up. He took in public schooling at SS No. 4 West Wawanosh in St. Helens from 1915-22, and his high schooling at Lucknow from 1922-25 and then attended the Ontario Agriculture College in Guelph from 1934-38 and he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. While growing up he enjoyed baseball, boxing, tennis and hockey and his hobbies were music and reading.  As he was growing up he had the measles. After his education and before he enlisted he operated a grain elevator between 1939-40 of the Searle Grain Company based in Winnipeg - Manitoba. He belonged to the Canadian Seed Trade Association. He was a member of the Militita in the Canadian Officer Training Program from 1934-35 in Guelph.

Canada

He enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 on March 27 in Saskatoon - Saskatchewan. When he enlisted he was 5' 11" and weighed 1712 pounds with a ruddy complexion, blue eyes and fair hair. He received the rank of Aircraftsman 2. He remained at the Saskatoon Recruitment Centre until April 12 when he was assigned to No. 1 Manning Depot in Toronto. He was here for approximately 6 months and on October 8 he was posted to Halifax - Nova Scotia to RCAF Eastern Air Command. In the middle of December he was posted to    No. 1 Manning Depot in Toronto.                                                                                                                            On January 15, 1941 he was then posted to No. 1 Initial Training School in Toronto where he had an average of 83% and placed 18 in a class of 24. From March 19-June 22 he was posted to No. 1 Air Observer School in Malton - Ontario and in air training his average was 71% and he was 39 in a class of 45. His ground training average was 61% and he placed 42 in a class of 45. His next posting was June 23-August 2 to Trenton to No. 1 Composite Training School. Between August 3- into the year 1942 he was posted to No. 3 Wireless School in Winnipeg Manitoba.                                                                                                                                                He was hospitalized at the King George Hospital in Winnipeg between January 30-February 10, 1942. Then it was on to Dafoe - Saskatchewan between February 10-March 11 to No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School. On March 12 he went to No. 1 "Y" Depot in Halifax and arrived on March 17 in preparations for duty overseas.

*****When I did research originally on Flying Officer McQuillin between 2006-2009 there was something about             his movements in Canada prior to going overseas but nothing at all on his movements in the United                       Kingdom. Now twelve years later there is less in his file and this makes it very difficult to bring his story while         he was in the United Kingdom. Ten months of his history is missing.*****

At the beginning of 1943 RCAF No. 426 Squadron left Group 4 and became part of Group 6 which was all
Canadian.
The target for this mission of January 13/14 was Lorient in France. Lorient had submarine pens for 30 u-boats and much damage was done to the German Navy facilities it did survive until the end of the war. Beginning in January of 1943 the RAF realized they could not destroy the submarine pens and the RAF decided instead to flatten the city and the port of Lorient. The objective was to cut the supply lines to the submarine base. Without resupply of fuel, weapons, and provisions it would make it very difficult for the u-boats to patrol the North Atlantic. Between January 14 and February 17 the bombers dropped 500 high explosive bombs and 60,000+ incendiary bombs with 90% of the city being destroyed.                                                                                                            This was the first bombing attack for the squadron in the war as part of Group 6. Flying Officer McQuillin was the wireless operator on this mission and he and his crew were airborne at 10:37 pm of January 13th.
There was heavy cumulus cloud at 70% to 17,000 feet with heavy icing in the clouds and rain at lower
altitudes. The wind was 30-40 mph. There were 9 aircraft detailed for this mission and 7 of those aircraft reached and bombed the target. The mission was originally planned as a mine - laying mission, but was changed to Lorient on the Bay of Biscay that housed German U-boats. All aircraft carried a mixed load of two 1,000 pound bombs plus incendiaries. They crossed the French coast at 19,000 feet. Over the target the cloud was patchy,
smokescreens, searchlights and light flak guns. Night fighters were in the air and included Ju 88s and Me
109s.
Flying Officer McQuillin and his crew in Wellington MkIII BK 165 failed to return to their base. 
                                                                                                                                                                          Beatrice McQuillin received the Memorial Cross in May 1944 and in March 1946 she received the medals awarded to George which were the 1939-45 Star, the Aircrew Europe Star, the Defence and War Medals plus the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with clasp. In June of 1946 she received the Operational Wings of her brother.

George is honoured and remembered on both the Lucknow and St Helens Cenotaph and on the Memorial Plaque of Lucknow Anglican Church. He is honoured and remembered on the Lucknow High School Memorial Plaque as well as on the Bruce County remembers site. He is also honoured and remembered on the Virtual Canadian War Memorial and on the Memorial Roll of the University of Guelph in the Memorial Hall. He is also honoured and remembered on the Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial and on the RCAF No. 426 Squadron Memorial Roll.