Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of George Earl Smith and Ona Pearl Smith, of Regina, Saskatchewan. Brother of Flight Sergeant George Earl Smith, Royal Canadian Air Force, missing presumed dead 13 July 1944.
Digital gallery of Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Letter to RCAF Casualty section from W/C Thompson<P>
This letter explains the circumstances of the aircraft's disappearance over the Baltic Sea area. It was a Lancaster PB 899 flown by F/L F.C. Aldworth. The crew are listed in the letter. They were carrying 6 x 1500 lb mines.<P>
Source:Library & "Archives Canada RG24 Vol 28243 (Miller, Kenneth A.) via R. Whitehouse
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Report to Air Ministry confirming the lost of Lancaster PB 899 and its crew on the night of 14/15 Feb 45 from 424 Sqdn. It lists the crew by their position as well as service number.<P>
Source:Library & "Archives Canada RG24 Vol 28243 (Miller, Kenneth A.) via R. Whitehouse
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Crash Report from the Dutch research group Bomber Command Association who do searches of German and Allied records to find out what happened to missing Allied aircrews. Lancaster PB 899 disappeared without a trace. They found no records of it being shot down.<P>
Source:Library & "Archives Canada RG24 Vol 28243 (Miller, Kenneth A.) via R. Whitehouse
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
A large arched window - the great north window - is engraved with the words from the 139th Psalm, sometimes called the Airman's Psalm - Runnymede Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
If I climb up into Heaven, Thou art there;
If I go to Hell, Thou art there also.
If I take the wings of the morning
And remain in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there also shall Thy hand lead me;
And Thy right hand shall hold me.
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Runnymede Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith is commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith is commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
Digital gallery of
Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith
From the Regina Leader Post March 1945. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Image gallery
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Letter to RCAF Casualty section from W/C Thompson<P> This letter explains the circumstances of the aircraft's disappearance over the Baltic Sea area. It was a Lancaster PB 899 flown by F/L F.C. Aldworth. The crew are listed in the letter. They were carrying 6 x 1500 lb mines.<P> Source:Library & "Archives Canada RG24 Vol 28243 (Miller, Kenneth A.) via R. Whitehouse
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Report to Air Ministry confirming the lost of Lancaster PB 899 and its crew on the night of 14/15 Feb 45 from 424 Sqdn. It lists the crew by their position as well as service number.<P> Source:Library & "Archives Canada RG24 Vol 28243 (Miller, Kenneth A.) via R. Whitehouse
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Crash Report from the Dutch research group Bomber Command Association who do searches of German and Allied records to find out what happened to missing Allied aircrews. Lancaster PB 899 disappeared without a trace. They found no records of it being shot down.<P> Source:Library & "Archives Canada RG24 Vol 28243 (Miller, Kenneth A.) via R. Whitehouse
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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A large arched window - the great north window - is engraved with the words from the 139th Psalm, sometimes called the Airman's Psalm - Runnymede Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens If I climb up into Heaven, Thou art there; If I go to Hell, Thou art there also. If I take the wings of the morning And remain in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there also shall Thy hand lead me; And Thy right hand shall hold me.
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Runnymede Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith is commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Pilot Officer Vernon Beverley Smith is commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
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From the Regina Leader Post March 1945. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 565 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL Surrey, United Kingdom
During the Second World War more than 116,000 men and women of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth gave their lives in service. More than 17,000 of these were members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, or Canadians serving with the Royal Air Force. Approximately one-third of all who died have no known grave. Of these, 20,450 are commemorated by name on the Runnymede Memorial, which is situated at Englefield Green, near Egham, 32 kilometers by road west of London.
The design of the Runnymede Memorial is original and striking. On the crest of Cooper's Hill, overlooking the Thames, a square tower dominates a cloister, in the centre of which rests the Stone of Remembrance. The cloistered walks terminate in two lookouts, one facing towards Windsor, and the other towards London Airport at Heathrow. The names of the dead are inscribed on the stone reveals of the narrow windows in the cloisters and the lookouts. They include those of 3,050 Canadian airmen. Above the three-arched entrance to the cloister is a great stone eagle with the Royal Air Force motto, Per Ardua ad Astra". On each side is the inscription:
IN THIS CLOISTER ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF TWENTY THOUSAND AIRMEN WHO HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE. THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM IN RAID AND SORTIE OVER THE BRITISH ISLES AND THE LANDS AND SEAS OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE
In the tower a vaulted shrine, which provides a quiet place for contemplation, contains illuminated verses by Paul H. Scott."
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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