Canadian Virtual War Memorial
John Archibald Wilding
In memory of:
Flying Officer John Archibald Wilding
September 9, 1944
Military Service
J/27908
23
Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
426 Sqdn.
Distinguished Flying Cross
Additional Information
Son of Archibald Wilding and of Rachel Wilding (nee Hullock), of New York City, U.S.A.
Commemorated on Page 478 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
BROOKWOOD MILITARY CEMETERY
Surrey, United Kingdom
55. A. 8.
Brookwood is 30 miles from London (M3 to Bagshot and then A322). The main entrance to Brookwood Military Cemetery is on the A324 from the village of Pirbright. Brookwood Military Cemetery is owned by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the United Kingdom, covering approximately 37 acres. In 1917, an area of land in Brookwood Cemetery (originally The London Necropolis) was set aside for the burial of men and women of the forces of the Commonwealth and Americans, who had died, many of battle wounds, in the London district. This site was further extended to accommodate the Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War, and American, Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French and Polish plots containing the graves of Allied casualties. There are also German and Italian plots where prisoners of war lie buried.
Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Digital Collection
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Photo of JOHN ARCHIBALD WILDING – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Document – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Document – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Identification – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Notification of death – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Correspondence – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Correspondence – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Correspondence – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Correspondence – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Photo of JOHN ARCHIBALD WILDING – On 9 Sept. 1944, the Halifax bomber flown by pilot F/O John Wilding was returning to its base with a partial bomb load after an aborted raid over the port of Le Harve when the outer port engine exploded as it approached Wallingford, Oxfordshire, and was engulfed in flames. The pilot ordered his crew to bail out leaving himself on board with RAF flight engineer Sergeant John Andrew, 22, from Abermule in Wales. They remained at the controls managing to turn the stricken bomber away from the town but just after passing over the River Thames the port wing folded and the bomber immediately crashed into open fields killing both airmen when the remaining bomb exploded on impact. In continuing gratitude, each year a service is held at the memorial cairn on the corner of Wilding and Andrew Roads, and the Canadian flag is flown over Wallingford Town Hall. (Photos of cadets and memorial courtesy 966 Wallingford Squadron ATC) -
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Gravemarker -
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Memorial – Flying Officer John Archibald Wilding is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens -
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Memorial – Flying Officer John Archibald Wilding is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens -
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Memorial – 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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