Garbutt, John Albert | grace-united-bram

Jack Albert Garbutt

Name: Garbutt, John Albert R163217

Born: August 13, 1924

Died: July 19, 1944

Family: Son of Norman Allan Garbutt and Lillian Alberta Jennings, of Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Service Number: R/163217

Age: 19

Force: Royal Canadian Air Force 619 Sqdn

Rank: Flight Sergeant, Air Gunner

Cemetery: Villers St. Genest Communal Cemetery, Oise, France

Grave: Grave 10

He flew with the 619 Squadron who were based at RAF Dunholme Lodge, in Lincolnshire, England.

His Ontario Registration of death says his permanent address at the time of his death was 51 Union Street in Brampton, Ontario. His cause of death states he was previously reported missing after air operations now for official purposes presumed dead. The RCAF never knew what happened to Jack, so he and his crew were declared missing and at the end of the war they were flagged as Previously Missing, Believed Killed, Now Officially Presumed Dead on List No. 1266 by the DND.

An official report lists the following information;

Flight Details:

Base: R.A.F. Dunholme Lodge, Lincolnshire

Unit: 619 Sqdn. Bomber Command

Aircraft: Lancaster Mk III, serial LM640

Target: Revigny, France

Incident: the aircraft crashed at Villers-St. Genest. The above named were killed. The bodies of Flying Officers A. G. Brittain and R. Logan were not found. The former is commemorated in Adelaide River War Cemetery, Northern Territory, Australia and the latter on the Runnymede Memorial

The squadron was formed in 1943 and disbanded in July 1945. During that time 95 aircraft were lost.

John Albert Garbutt was born on August 13, 1924 in Brampton to Norman Allan Garbutt and Lillian Alberta Jennings, of Brampton. He was educated in Brampton public and high schools. He enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force on August 15, 1942 and was sent overseas in October 1943.

He is also remembered on the Garbutt family’s gravestone in the Brampton Cemetery.

He is commemorated on Page 312 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.

The CWGC War Graves Registration Report Form shows that on March 12, 1946, John was buried in Villers St. Genest Communal Cemetery, in Oise, France, in Grave 10. Jack is also remembered on the gravestone for his parents in the Brampton Cemetery in Brampton, Ontario.

The CWGC Headstone schedule displays the information that is to be engraved upon a soldier’s gravestone. For J. A. Garbutt, it shows;

Line 1: R163217 Flight Sergeant

Line 2: J. A. Garbutt

Line 3: Royal Canadian Air Force

Line 4: 19th July 1944 Age 23

Cross

Line 5: In life, loved and honored

Line 6: In death, remembered