The Forgotten Command. That’s how some people refer to RAF Ferry Command. Remembrance Day is a good time to start remembering,
Ferry Command existed for six years, from 1940 to early 1946. In that short time it recorded remarkable achievements, all the while headquartered in Montréal.
Its mission was to deliver aircraft from North American factories to overseas theatres of war. And what a grand job it did. By war’s end, the tally reached nearly 10,000 aircraft. The delivery list included 18 different types, among them Liberators, Dakotas, Mitchells, Catalinas and Venturas.
Sadly, that delivery figure came with a cost. Lost out of Gander. Lost en route to Lagens, Azores. Lost out of Natal, Brazil. Crashed Isle of Arran, Scotland. The litany is long.
Some 500 air crew were lost on delivery flights, and another 84 men perished on post-delivery return flights. They may have been spared the perils of combat but they faced fierce natural enemies such as the North Atlantic weather with its massive storms and ever-present risks of icing, and the long stretches of ocean on crossings to Europe or Africa.
Those who lost their lives were buried in cemeteries near where they died, or in cemeteries chosen by their families. Many of the graves are cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Men whose remains could not be recovered are commemorated by name on the Ottawa Memorial or on the Runnymede Memorial overlooking the River Thames west of London, England.
On this Remembrance Day, we shall remember them. In honouring the air crews and all the men and women of Ferry Command, we pay special tribute to their courage and determination in accomplishing their mission and tracing highways in the sky for future generations.
As we contemplate the many sacrifices war entails, our thoughts may linger on these words inscribed on the tombstone for Ferry Command Captain Danny Duggan of Boston in the Old Kibride Cemetery, Arran, Scotland, a fitting epitaph for all the air crews of RAF Ferry Command.
I am trying to find information on my uncle who died flying for the ferry command in 1943. He was 21 years old at the time. If anyone knows where I might find information, I would appreciate it.
His name was Gilbert Gaylord Fincher.
Thank you.
It is always an honour to help those trying to learn about relatives or others who perished while serving their country. After establishing that Gilbert Fincher was in the United States Army Air Forces, I enlisted the help of aviation researcher/author Darrell Hillier in Newfoundland and Labrador and passed along his research suggestions to you privately. The basic information will appear soon in a post to guide others. Sadly, we learned that Gilbert Fincher died in the crash of a Curtiss C-46 (registration 41-12422, msn 26549) on 3 October 1943 in Yunnan, China. During the initial climb after takeoff from Kunming Airport, the aircraft exploded and crashed, killing all six crew aboard. May they rest in peace.
Thanks Diana for remembering the “Lost Command”. My uncle Gayle Burton Swaney took a leave of absence from the RCMP Flying Service to join the RAF Ferry Command as a flight engineer. He flew over 190 trans-Atlantic crossings with them, including developing the “Crimson Route”. He also served on the Cairo ammunition airlift. His Liberator was lost on July 4, 1945 with all four crew and eleven VIP’s on board when it disappeared over the Atlantic on a return flight from the San Francisco Conference (The United Nations). Gayle had been married for less than a month.
Good to hear from you Charles. Gayle’s name comes up in Don McVicar’s vivid stories. I hope you will write many articles about your uncle – his story is remarkable and deserves to be told, not only covering his days in Ferry Command, but also his Arctic flights with the RCMP.
Remembering my Great Uncle RAF Ferry Command Flight Sergeant John H Warman. He and 25 others were lost when their return flight from Accra to Natal went down off the coast of Brazil near Recife on January 17, 1943. Only 2 life rafts were found several days later with many personal items on them and each containing one body. It indicated that many survived the crash, but were not found in time. The search for them was called off only after 3 days, yet evidence showed some may have survived up 18 days. The survisors even managed to fashion fishing gear out of uniform medals and fish bones were found in the rafts. I can not imagine what they went through.They are forgotten heros to many, but not to our family. Thank you for your post.
A brave but terrifying effort to survive. Sadly unsuccessful. Carl Christie lists the accident in his book Ocean Bridge with names of some of those lost. But you have a personal connection – can you tell us more of the story of Sgt. Warman and his time with RAF Ferry Command? We can honour him by remembering his contributions as well as the untimely fate of a man who was only 23 years old.
A heartfelt and elegant tribute.
Thank you Diana
Canadian James Douglas Woodyard was a Radio Officer flying with R.AF. Transport Command Dorval, on deliveries of North American factory-fresh aircraft departing from transport hubs at Dorval, Elizabeth City NC, and Goose Bay, to battle fronts worldwide during World War II. On June 10, 1945, Radio Officer Woodyard, on a delivery flight aboard Mosquito fighter aircraft KA237 out of Goose Bay, Labrador was lost at sea, enroute to Bluie West-1 (Greenland). We do remember (November 11, 2020).
We must also remember the pilot Howard Stanley Wright. His son wrote in 2017 to say:
My father, Howard Wright, was the Chief Flying Instructor at #3 Elementary Flying School in London, Ontario until it closed in July, 1942. He then went to the RAF Ferry Command and flew 34 aircraft overseas before crashing a Mosquito bomber (KA237) into the North Atlantic off Greenland in June, 1945. “They” never found him or his plane or his navigator.
Hello Robert. Diana Trafford emailed me to point out your post today regarding James Douglas WOODYARD and the fateful Mosquito flight KA237. My father, Howard Stanley WRIGHT was the pilot on that flight; and, if you are related to the Woodyard family – we may find an exchange of information quite interesting. Following is a ‘snippet’ of information I sent back to Diana, “Thank you for reaching out to me. It’s interesting to note that you have spoken to Robert Toombs who commented today about James Douglas Woodyard, the radio operator on that fateful flight. I will reply to Mr. Toombs through the Flights of History web page. Our mother was left with 3 small children ages 4, 3 and 1-1/2; and, she was 6-months pregnant with my younger brother James (Jim) who was Christened James Douglas Wright – and, if I’m not mistaken, he was named in memory of James Douglas Woodyard – the radio operator/navigator.
Both our father and Mr. Woodyard are remembered at a memorial in Ottawa, Ontario that “commemorates by name almost 800 men and women who lost their lives while serving or training with the Air Forces of the Commonwealth in Canada, the West Indies and the United States and who have no known grave.[1] “
Excellent tribute Diana. So fitting for this day of Remembrance.
I will remember my family members who served in all three services in both Wars as always.
Thank you for reminding us of some highly significant occurrences which are too often forgotten.