424 Squadron's Handley Page Halifax BIII (#LV970) aircraft, with an aircrew of seven, was participating in a night air operation over the rail yards at Villeneuve St. Georges, France. It failed to return to base following the operation and was found to have crashed in France, taking the lives of the entire crew.
The seven airmen who perished in this crash were-
RAF Flying Officer Colin Francis WILSON,
RCAF Flying Officer Philip Nairn Thompson VAN ALSTYNE,
RCAF Flying Officer Leonard Taylor SYKES,
RCAF Pilot Officer Alexander Gunn SINCLAIR,
RCAF Flying Officer Lawrence Francis O'BRIEN,
RCAF Pilot Officer Donald MORE and
RCAF Pilot Officer John Alexander BUCKHAM.
Military Service-
Rank: Flying Officer
Trade: Pilot
Service Number: J/26111
Force: Air Force
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force
Division: 424 'Tiger' RCAF Squadron; RAF Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire
(MOTTO: Castigandos Castigamus ['We chastise those who deserve to be chastised']).
A meat cutter by trade, residing in Shelby, Montana, USA, he enlisted in the RCAF on 27 May 1942 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Son of Taylor and Maria Elenor (née Dorcas) Sykes of Fort Benton, Montana, USA [father born in North Dakota, USA; mother born in Canada]; husband of Theresa Sykes of Shelby, Montana.
Flying Officer Leonard Taylor Sykes is commemorated on Page 457 of Canada's Second World War Book of Remembrance.
He is also commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The seven airmen who perished in this crash were-
RAF Flying Officer Colin Francis WILSON,
RCAF Flying Officer Philip Nairn Thompson VAN ALSTYNE,
RCAF Flying Officer Leonard Taylor SYKES,
RCAF Pilot Officer Alexander Gunn SINCLAIR,
RCAF Flying Officer Lawrence Francis O'BRIEN,
RCAF Pilot Officer Donald MORE and
RCAF Pilot Officer John Alexander BUCKHAM.
Military Service-
Rank: Flying Officer
Trade: Pilot
Service Number: J/26111
Force: Air Force
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force
Division: 424 'Tiger' RCAF Squadron; RAF Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire
(MOTTO: Castigandos Castigamus ['We chastise those who deserve to be chastised']).
A meat cutter by trade, residing in Shelby, Montana, USA, he enlisted in the RCAF on 27 May 1942 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Son of Taylor and Maria Elenor (née Dorcas) Sykes of Fort Benton, Montana, USA [father born in North Dakota, USA; mother born in Canada]; husband of Theresa Sykes of Shelby, Montana.
Flying Officer Leonard Taylor Sykes is commemorated on Page 457 of Canada's Second World War Book of Remembrance.
He is also commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
424 Squadron's Handley Page Halifax BIII (#LV970) aircraft, with an aircrew of seven, was participating in a night air operation over the rail yards at Villeneuve St. Georges, France. It failed to return to base following the operation and was found to have crashed in France, taking the lives of the entire crew.
The seven airmen who perished in this crash were-
RAF Flying Officer Colin Francis WILSON,
RCAF Flying Officer Philip Nairn Thompson VAN ALSTYNE,
RCAF Flying Officer Leonard Taylor SYKES,
RCAF Pilot Officer Alexander Gunn SINCLAIR,
RCAF Flying Officer Lawrence Francis O'BRIEN,
RCAF Pilot Officer Donald MORE and
RCAF Pilot Officer John Alexander BUCKHAM.
Military Service-
Rank: Flying Officer
Trade: Pilot
Service Number: J/26111
Force: Air Force
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force
Division: 424 'Tiger' RCAF Squadron; RAF Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire
(MOTTO: Castigandos Castigamus ['We chastise those who deserve to be chastised']).
A meat cutter by trade, residing in Shelby, Montana, USA, he enlisted in the RCAF on 27 May 1942 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Son of Taylor and Maria Elenor (née Dorcas) Sykes of Fort Benton, Montana, USA [father born in North Dakota, USA; mother born in Canada]; husband of Theresa Sykes of Shelby, Montana.
Flying Officer Leonard Taylor Sykes is commemorated on Page 457 of Canada's Second World War Book of Remembrance.
He is also commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The seven airmen who perished in this crash were-
RAF Flying Officer Colin Francis WILSON,
RCAF Flying Officer Philip Nairn Thompson VAN ALSTYNE,
RCAF Flying Officer Leonard Taylor SYKES,
RCAF Pilot Officer Alexander Gunn SINCLAIR,
RCAF Flying Officer Lawrence Francis O'BRIEN,
RCAF Pilot Officer Donald MORE and
RCAF Pilot Officer John Alexander BUCKHAM.
Military Service-
Rank: Flying Officer
Trade: Pilot
Service Number: J/26111
Force: Air Force
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force
Division: 424 'Tiger' RCAF Squadron; RAF Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire
(MOTTO: Castigandos Castigamus ['We chastise those who deserve to be chastised']).
A meat cutter by trade, residing in Shelby, Montana, USA, he enlisted in the RCAF on 27 May 1942 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Son of Taylor and Maria Elenor (née Dorcas) Sykes of Fort Benton, Montana, USA [father born in North Dakota, USA; mother born in Canada]; husband of Theresa Sykes of Shelby, Montana.
Flying Officer Leonard Taylor Sykes is commemorated on Page 457 of Canada's Second World War Book of Remembrance.
He is also commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Family Members
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Records on Ancestry
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Web: UK and Allied Countries, Index of International Bomber Command Losses, 1936-1966
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Montana, U.S., County Marriages, 1865-1987
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Montana, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1865-1993
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Web: Saskatchewan, Canada, Birth Index, 1875-1919
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U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960
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