Robert James DICKIE

On The War Memorial Trail…. Remembrance Week 2024 –Remembering Those Who Served In The RCAF During WWII

/ On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter & Daria / Leave a comment

Remembrance_Day_2024_3840x2160

November 7, 2024.  As we reflect on the service and sacrifices made by so many who have served, both during conflicts and in peacetime, I took a look back at previous stories told over the years.  2024 commemorates 100 years of service for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as a distinct military element, and so it seemed appropriate to dedicate this posting to stories previously told of those who served in the RCAF during WWII. 

…The Air Force Heritage Park in Summerside has a commemorative stone honouring Flight Officer Joe McIver….

IMG_20190807_101837076 Entrance to Air Force Heritage Park Summerside

Entrance to Air Force Heritage Park in Summerside. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Several years ago we visited the Air Force Heritage Park in Summerside to look at the commemorative stone honouring Flight Officer Joseph ‘Joe’ Charles MCIVER of Kinkora, Prince Edward Island.  Joe was the navigator aboard B24 Liberator MkVIII EV895 on November 18, 1944, when it went down near the Arctic Circle while on anti-submarine patrol looking for a suspected U-boat off Gardskagi, Iceland.  There were no survivors.

You can read his story at:

IMG_20190807_101038750 McIver Commemorative Stone Summerside

Commemorative Stone at Air Force Heritage Park, Summerside, Prince Edward Island. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

 … Pilot Elmer Muttart saved his crew and the Dutch village of Wons but sacrificed his own life to do so ….

The very first airman whose story was researched by Pieter was that of Elmer Bagnall MUTTART of Cape Traverse, Prince Edward Island, whose name is listed on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion.  Elmer was the pilot aboard Halifax L9561 when it was shot twice by German night fighters on October 12, 1941, while the plane was on its way to a bombing raid on Bremen, Germany. 

After ordering the crew to bail out, Elmer managed to steer the burning plane away from the Dutch village of Wons, in the province of Friesland, before it crashed in a farmer’s field, just outside the village. He was the only casualty and is buried in Harlingen General Cemetery in The Netherlands.  The rest of the crew spent the war years in prisoner of war camps before being liberated. On October 12, 2019, a memorial panel was placed near the crash site in Wons to honour Elmer and his crew, an emotional journey for all of us who attended.

You can read his story here:

 … Pilot Hubert Hall was a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down in 1942 ….

John ‘Hubert’ HALL of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, was the pilot aboard Wellington Z1203, which crashed in The Netherlands near Mijdrecht on the night of March 28/29, 1942.  Hubert spent the remainder of the war years as a prisoner of war in POW camp Stalag Luft III, located in present-day Żagań, Poland, before returning home to Canada.

You can read his story at:

… Navigator Bunky FitzGerald is in an unmarked grave after Halifax W1175 crashed off the Dutch coast….

Rowan Charles ‘Bunky’ FITZGERALD, of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, was the navigator aboard Halifax W1175 of the 405th Vancouver Squadron RCAF when it was hit by shellfire (flak) as the plane was returning from Bremen, Germany on the morning of June 28, 1942. 

The plane crashed into a sandbank in the Wadden Sea, off the Dutch coast between the Island of Texel and the mainland, 15.5 km from Harlingen, in the province of Friesland.  There were no survivors. Only one crew member’s body was identified, and was buried in Harlingen General Cemetery in The Netherlands. His grave is between 3 unknown graves, one of which may just contain the remains of Bunky FitzGerald. 

You can read his story at:

… Pilot Lorne MacFarlane survived all his flights and returned home…

Pilot Lorne MACFARLANE, of Fernwood, Prince Edward Island, successfully flew 40 missions overseas and was then assigned to fly dignitaries, mail, and personnel between England and the front lines until the war ended.  After returning safely back to Canada, he was the Officer In Charge at RCAF No 1 Radio and Navigation School in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

You can read his story at:

… Wireless operator Bob Dickie almost made it safely back to England…

Robert ‘Bob’ James DICKIE, of Carlton (now Borden-Carleton), Prince Edward Island, was the wireless operator aboard Lancaster JB312 on February 21, 1944 when it collided with another plane during a bombing sortie in Stuttgart, Germany.  Although badly damaged, the plane was able make it back to England, but then crashed as it approached the runway. There were no survivors. Bob is buried at Cambridge City Cemetery in England.

You can read his story at:

… Pilot Leonard Unwin’s plane crashed on Christmas Eve…

Pilot Leonard Arthur UNWIN, of Windsor, Ontario, was a flying instructor in Summerside, Prince Edward Island and Moncton, New Brunswick, before going overseas in May 1943.  On December 24, 1944, he left from his base in Belgium, one of the pilots in a section of 4 Typhoon planes on an armed reconnaissance in the Utrecht area in The Netherlands. While attacking a convoy of three German trucks in Woudenberg, the plane’s tailpiece broke off, the plane destabilized, and crashed. He’s buried in Woudenberg Municipal Cemetery in The Netherlands.

You can read his story at:

… Flight student Ralph McCutcheon lost his life in a training accident…

Flight student Ralph Gordon MCCUTCHEON, of Toronto, Ontario, but who was born in Buffalo, New York, USA, lost his life in a tragic accident that happened during his training at the No. 9 Service Flying Training School RCAF in Summerside, Prince Edward Island on the morning of June 11, 1942.  While training in a Harvard MK2 plane, it crashed in a farm field in North Tryon, Prince Edward Island.

You can read his story at:

… Gunner William Andrew Hood was aboard the last flight of Halifax JD215…

William Andrew HOOD, of Little Bras D’or, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, was the mid-upper gunner aboard Halifax JD215 when it was shot down over The Netherlands on June 29, 1943.  None of the crew survived. He’s buried in Eindhoven General Cemetery in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

You can read his story at:

… Navigator Arnold Hupman was aboard Lancaster X KB728 VR-V when it exploded over Arnhem, The Netherlands…

Navigator Arnold Freeman HUPMAN, of East Side of Ragged Island, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, lost his life when the Lancaster bomber he was in, Lancaster X KB728 VR-V, was attacked by a German night fighter and exploded on the outskirts of Arnhem, The Netherlands as it was returning from a bombing operation against the synthetic oil plant at Sterkrade in Germany on the night of June 16 to 17, 1944. There were no survivors, and all 7 crew members are now buried in the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, The Netherlands.

You can read his story at:

… Pilot Douglas MacKenzie did not survive the last flight of Halifax DT630…

Jack ‘Douglas’ MACKENZIE,  of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was the pilot of Halifax DT630 (call sign VR-T), one of 8 heavy Halifax bombers sent on a night raid to Hamburg, Germany on February 3, 1943.  It was shot down by a night fighter over the province of Drenthe in The Netherlands. 4 men died, including Douglas, while 3 survived and spent the remainder of the war in prisoner of war camps.  He’s buried in Sleen General Cemetery in The Netherlands, along with the other 3 casualties of that flight.

You can read his story at:

… Pilot Dusty Millar’s spitfire ran out of fuel and crashed…

George Glenn ‘Dusty’ MILLAR, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was killed on September 28, 1944 while flying a Spitfire Mark IX on patrol with his squadron over Nijmegen, The Netherlands. After Dusty reported on his radio that the plane was low in fuel, it crashed southeast of Weibosch near Schijndel, in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant.  He is buried in Uden War Cemetery in The Netherlands.

You can read his story at:

May we never forget the sacrifices made by these airmen, and their families, during WWII.  Unfortunately, while we live free in Canada, so many people today live in a war zone and are experiencing death, uncertainty, and insecurity in not knowing what will happen next.  Lest we forget is never more appropriate.

If you have a story to tell, please let Pieter know. You can email him at memorialtrail@gmail.com, comment on the blog, or send a tweet to @researchmemori1.  

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.

On The War Memorial Trail….. Remembering WW2 Airman Robert ‘Bob’ James Dickie

/ On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter & Daria / Leave a comment

July 27, 2021. Several weeks ago, as Pieter was jogging back home after a long run through our neighbourhood, he was stopped by Wayne Quigley.  “…Pieter, I’ve got a story for you!...” Wayne said. “…My great-uncle, Bob Dickie, died in a plane that crashed off the English coast during WWII. The plane was returning from a bombing sortie in Germany...”

With an intro like that, Pieter couldn’t resist learning more.  That evening, we visited with Wayne and Janet Quigley of Augustine Cove.

CIMG5248 Jun 14 2021 Wayne Pieter Janet

Pieter, centre, with Wayne and Janet Quigley.  (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Born October 13, 1921 in Carleton (now Borden-Carleton), Robert ‘Bob’ James DICKIE was the son of John William Dickie and Mary Ann McClure.  His sister, Marion Waddell, was Wayne’s grandmother.

At the time Bob was born, the family lived on Dickie Rd in Carleton, so named because the family had been the first to build a house on that road.  Wayne thought that Bob’s father worked “… at the CNR yard in Borden….”  (CNR refers to Canadian National Railways.)  “…There used to be a railway crossing that went right through the road...”

CIMG5249 Jun 14 2021 Dickie Rd in Carleton

Dickie Rd in Borden-Carleton was named after the Dickie family.  (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

The railway is long gone, but the street is still called Dickie Rd.  “…The family moved to Charlottetown ….” where Bob’s father worked for the CNR.

As Wayne didn’t have a good photo of Bob Dickie, he contacted his cousin, Betty Lou Wood, whose father, John Thomas, was the brother of Bob and Wayne’s grandmother Marion.

Betty Lou recollected that before the family moved to Charlottetown, her grandfather “...worked as a lobster fisherman during lobster season, an ice-boatman during winter, as well as operating a family farm year round…”   The ice boat stopped running in 1917, when it was replaced by a ferry operated by the CNR.

20210712_153936 Bob Dickie

Robert ‘Bob’ James Dickie.  (Photo courtesy Betty Lou Wood)

… Uncle Bob was always the hero of the family….

When we met with Betty Lou and her daughter Louann, Betty Lou told us that her uncle “…was always the hero of the family.  His picture is always displayed from late October to Christmas in my house...”

CIMG5262 Jul 12 2021 Pieter with Betty Lou Wood at Tim Hortons Ctown

Pieter with Betty Lou Wood.  (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Betty Lou’s granddaughter, Eve Johnson, did a Heritage Fair Project on Bob Dickie.  In her project, she wrote about his youth and hobbies.  Eve wrote that “…he was an excellent skater and swimmer and he also loved to dance….. As a young man he was recognized as having saved two young boys from drowning...”

After graduating from high school, he “…enrolled in a business course, and family legend is that he said he eventually wanted to study to become a lawyer….”

… The training received in the RCAF was extensive….

On October 25, 1940, Bob enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in Charlottetown.  A month later his training began, first in Brandon, Manitoba at the RCAF Training Facility No 2 Manning Depot.  (For a photo of the building, see   http://pastforward.winnipeg.ca/digital/collection/berman/id/2366)

20210712_154649 1940 train photo

Group photo taken in front of the train in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, which was enroute to the RCAF Training Facility in Brandon. (Photo courtesy Betty Lou Wood)

NOTE:  The back of the back photo identifies the men.  Back, left to right: Leonard BERRIGAN, BANKS, Jim ROSSUMS, John HANSON, Foster FISHER, Bob DICKIE, Charles WOODSWORTH.  Front, left to right: WRIGHT, Prentis ANDREW, Bill MACDONALD, Rolf BOYLE.

A month later he was sent to the No 7 Equipment Depot in Winnipeg for additional training.  On January 27, 1941, he went to Regina, Saskatchewan to the No 2 Initial Training School (ITS) for 4 weeks before returning back to Brandon on March 10, 1941. (For more information, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan_facilities_in_Canada)

On April 27, 1941 he was sent to the No 2 Wireless School in Calgary, Alberta for training as a wireless operator.  He was entitled to wear a Wireless Operator’s Badge (called Wings) as of September 14, 1941, according to his training report.

On September 12, 1941 he was sent to the No 3 Bombing and Gunnery School in MacDonald, Manitoba to train as an air gunner.  On October 13, 1941 he was authorized to wear an Air Gunner’s Badge (called Wings).  The chief instructor noted that he was ‘responsible and conscientious’.

20210712_154126 1941 Boys from PEI left Bob Dickie centre Cliff Campbell

Three from PEI: Bob Dickie, far left, after receiving his Air Gunner’s Badge.  Centre: Cliff Campbell of Charlottetown.  Right: unknown. (Photo courtesy Betty Lou Wood)

… Bob is assigned to the RAF….

On October 14, 1941 he was posted to the No. 1 ‘Y’ Depot in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the embarkation point for leaving Canada for the United Kingdom the next day.  Upon arrival in England on November 2, 1941, he was assigned to the RAFTP (Royal Air Force Trainees Pool).

He was first at the No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre in Bournemouth.  On January 20, 1942 he was sent to the No 22 Operational Training Unit (OTU), RAF Wellesbourne in Mountford, Warwickshire, which trained aircrew for night bombing raids in Wellington aircraft.

By June 1942 he was participating in bombing runs with No 115 Squadron, RAF.  On June 27, 1942, during a bombing run to Bremen, the plane was attacked by a German nightfighter.  Records indicate that the bomb aimer and Bob were wounded, but rear gunner Sgt Bill MCCANN was killed.

Eve Johnson recorded in her Heritage Project that “…Uncle Bob came home to Charlottetown to recover from his wounds…”  It wasn’t a long stay as by August 9, 1942 he was back in England and participating in more flying missions.

On November 11, 1942 he was sent to the Bomber Development Unit.  Then, on September 17, 1943 he was assigned to No 97 Squadron, RAF.  This was a Pathfinder unit, whose responsibility was to locate and mark targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing.

Pathfinders had to fly at a lower altitude than the main bomber force, making their sorties more dangerous than if they could fly at a higher altitude.  (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathfinder_(RAF) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._97_Squadron_RAF)

After flying in a number of aircraft, by October 1943 Bob’s squadron was using Lancaster aircraft.

… The last flight of Lancaster JB312….

20210712_154508 Group photo Bob on right

Crew beside Lancaster JB312.  Bob Dickie is on the far right.  (Photo courtesy Betty Lou Wood)

Just after midnight on February 21, 1944, the crew of Lancaster JB312 left RAF Bourn Airfield for Stuttgart, Germany. It was Bob Dickie’s 37th sortie and his last flight, one that he and the rest of the crew did not survive.  (It’s unlikely that the photo above was taken just before this last flight, as crew would fly the same plane several times.)

According to the crash report, while over Stuttgart, the plane “…collided with another aircraft and probably received flak damage. The H2S blister was torn away, the fuselage was badly damaged, and flaps also received damage.…”

By a miracle, the plane did return to England.  However, on return to the base, the plane “…crashed on approaching runway, presumably as the result of the damage received over the target…”  All of the crew members lost their lives.

The crew members for this last flight of Lancaster JB 312 were:

  • R. S. EMERSON, Captain
  • A. J. NEWELL, Flight Engineer
  • J. WORTH, Navigator
  • J. A. BARTHOLOMEW, Air Bomber
  • Robert ‘Bob’ James DICKIE, Wireless Operator
  • W. G. DUNCAN, Mid Gunner
  • G. W. WOOD, Rear Gunner

Bob was buried at Cambridge City Cemetery on February 24, 1944, along with other comrades who lost their lives. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_City_Cemetery)

CIMG5269 Bob Dickie original grave marker

Original grave marker for Bob Dickie.  (Photo courtesy Betty Lou Wood)

Although Bob’s original grave marker said Warrant Officer, he had received a promotion to Pilot Officer the day before his death. His permanent Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone indicates this.  (See https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32378762/robert-james-dickie)

Thank you to Wayne and Janet Quigley, Betty Lou and Louann Wood, and Eve Johnson for the photos and information about Bob Dickie.  Thank you also to Historic Interpretation/Museum Planner Don Smith, who helped with plane identification and the planes used in RCAF training schools, as well as clarifying the Pathfinder role of No 97 Squadron and the final flight of Lancaster JB312.

If you have information to share about Bob Dickie and the other airmen mentioned, or can help in identification of the men in the various photos, please contact Pieter at memorialtrail@gmail.com, comment on the blog, or send a tweet to @researchmemori1.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Screenshot_2021-02-27 On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.