Memorial photograph: In the Saint Donat Cemetery where the crew of RCAF Liberator 'Harry' were finally laid to rest, with full military honours, stands this CWGC Memorial-a plaque on an obelisk-(refurbished in 2018), honouring the memory of their service and sacrifice. Sergeant Eric Morgan Finn is also honoured at a special memorial cenotaph, located at the 1943 crash site on Black Mountain--The Consolidated Liberator 'Harry' Memorial.
-On 20 Oct 1943, RCAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator #3701, nicknamed 'Harry', aircraft took flight from Gander, Newfoundland, its final destination being the RCAF Base at Mont-Joli in Quebec; there were twenty-four airmen on board-4 aircrew and 20 passengers. During the flight, however, the Liberator was diverted to RCAF Dorval in Quebec because of poor weather conditions. Tragically it crashed on the west side of Black Mountain ('Montaigne Noire') near Saint-Donat in Quebec. Though a thorough search was immediately undertaken to locate the aircraft and its crew members, nothing was found until 32 months later, on 20 June 1946, when another RCAF aircraft flying over the area spotted the wreckage. In 1946 a Memorial Cairn with an attached plaque was erected at the isolated crash site on Black Mountain, near which the 24 RCAF airmen were initially laid to rest; the memorial remembered and honoured the 24 men who had lost their lives there—and 23 White Crosses and one Star Of David were placed to mark their final resting places.
In the mid-1980's, the remains of the twenty-four RCAF airmen were disinterred and carried down from the mountain site; they were re-interred in a mass grave in the cemetery in the town of Saint-Donat at the foot of Black Mountain.
The 24 airmen who perished that day in 1943, in the worst accident in Canadian military aviation, were-
Flight Lieutenant Joseph Alfred Raymond POIRIER,
Flying Officer Stephen Andrew SANDERSON,
Flight Lieutenant Robert Frank FISHER ,
Flying Officer Jay Syver JOHNSTON,
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Joseph Alexander BARABONOFF,
Warrant Officer 1st Class Franklin Elwood JENKINS,
Warrant Officer 1st Class Jacob SILVERSTEIN,
Warrant Officer 1st Class Wilfred I. HOWLETT,
Pilot Officer Robert William MacDONALD,
Sergeant William Gordon MacNAUGHTON,
Sergeant Franklin Hicks ELLIOTT,
Leading Aircraftman Charles Laurie DYNES,
Leading Aircraftman Joseph Achille Jean Paul VIELLEUX,
Leading Aircraftman Guy Ridgewood PATTERSON,
Corporal Howard Kenneth HAMBLY,
Leading Aircraftman Edwin William READ and
Leading Aircraftman Albert James RADCLIFFE.
Military Service:-
Rank: Sergeant
Trade: Air Gunner
Service Number: R/72026
Age: 22
Force: Air Force
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force
Division: #10 North Atlantic Squadron
Son of Arthur James Finn and Hilda Finn of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sergeant Eric Morgan Finn is commemorated on Page 159 of Canada's Second World War Book of Remembrance.
He is also commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
On Sunday, 30 Sept 2018, to mark the 75th Anniversary of this dreadful crash and the loss of twenty-four young Canadians a commemorative ceremony took place at the Saint-Donat Municipal Cemetery in Saint-Donat, Quebec. 24 white carnations—one for each of the victims of the crash of Liberator "Harry"—and two wreaths were laid at the monument commemorating the crash of Liberator 'Harry'.
Memorial photograph: In the Saint Donat Cemetery where the crew of RCAF Liberator 'Harry' were finally laid to rest, with full military honours, stands this CWGC Memorial-a plaque on an obelisk-(refurbished in 2018), honouring the memory of their service and sacrifice. Sergeant Eric Morgan Finn is also honoured at a special memorial cenotaph, located at the 1943 crash site on Black Mountain--The Consolidated Liberator 'Harry' Memorial.
-On 20 Oct 1943, RCAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator #3701, nicknamed 'Harry', aircraft took flight from Gander, Newfoundland, its final destination being the RCAF Base at Mont-Joli in Quebec; there were twenty-four airmen on board-4 aircrew and 20 passengers. During the flight, however, the Liberator was diverted to RCAF Dorval in Quebec because of poor weather conditions. Tragically it crashed on the west side of Black Mountain ('Montaigne Noire') near Saint-Donat in Quebec. Though a thorough search was immediately undertaken to locate the aircraft and its crew members, nothing was found until 32 months later, on 20 June 1946, when another RCAF aircraft flying over the area spotted the wreckage. In 1946 a Memorial Cairn with an attached plaque was erected at the isolated crash site on Black Mountain, near which the 24 RCAF airmen were initially laid to rest; the memorial remembered and honoured the 24 men who had lost their lives there—and 23 White Crosses and one Star Of David were placed to mark their final resting places.
In the mid-1980's, the remains of the twenty-four RCAF airmen were disinterred and carried down from the mountain site; they were re-interred in a mass grave in the cemetery in the town of Saint-Donat at the foot of Black Mountain.
The 24 airmen who perished that day in 1943, in the worst accident in Canadian military aviation, were-
Flight Lieutenant Joseph Alfred Raymond POIRIER,
Flying Officer Stephen Andrew SANDERSON,
Flight Lieutenant Robert Frank FISHER ,
Flying Officer Jay Syver JOHNSTON,
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Joseph Alexander BARABONOFF,
Warrant Officer 1st Class Franklin Elwood JENKINS,
Warrant Officer 1st Class Jacob SILVERSTEIN,
Warrant Officer 1st Class Wilfred I. HOWLETT,
Pilot Officer Robert William MacDONALD,
Sergeant William Gordon MacNAUGHTON,
Sergeant Franklin Hicks ELLIOTT,
Leading Aircraftman Charles Laurie DYNES,
Leading Aircraftman Joseph Achille Jean Paul VIELLEUX,
Leading Aircraftman Guy Ridgewood PATTERSON,
Corporal Howard Kenneth HAMBLY,
Leading Aircraftman Edwin William READ and
Leading Aircraftman Albert James RADCLIFFE.
Military Service:-
Rank: Sergeant
Trade: Air Gunner
Service Number: R/72026
Age: 22
Force: Air Force
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force
Division: #10 North Atlantic Squadron
Son of Arthur James Finn and Hilda Finn of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sergeant Eric Morgan Finn is commemorated on Page 159 of Canada's Second World War Book of Remembrance.
He is also commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
On Sunday, 30 Sept 2018, to mark the 75th Anniversary of this dreadful crash and the loss of twenty-four young Canadians a commemorative ceremony took place at the Saint-Donat Municipal Cemetery in Saint-Donat, Quebec. 24 white carnations—one for each of the victims of the crash of Liberator "Harry"—and two wreaths were laid at the monument commemorating the crash of Liberator 'Harry'.
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