James Averd Wilson
Flight Sergeant, Royal Canadian Air Force

Son of Thomas Arthur & Sarah Jane Wilson of Birtle, Manitoba, Canada
​Died 29 January 1943
​20 years old
​
Row E, Grave 9

​Reported killed on service in casualty list released Friday night, Averd was youngest son of Mr & Mrs T A Wilson, Birtle and grandson of Editor Wilson of the "Eye Witness".  An only brother Wilbur, is engaged in a war plant in Peterboro.  Averd was born at Birtle, 22 December 1922, and took an active part in local hockey while attending school.  He joined the RCAF in May 1941, took flying at Virden and Saskatoon and arrived overseas on 1 April 1942.  His training there took him to Ireland and Scotland and back to England, where he was given an instructor's course but chose to go back to operational training.  Cables received last week state that death occurred 29 January and that his funeral service was held​ 1 February at All Saints Cemetery Honington, Suffolk.
​
His grandfather E J Wilson had been Editor of the Birtle Eyewitness since 1891
Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star February 1943.

​Died in a training exercise when two Wellington bombers collided at Honington
​He was serving on No 23 OTU (Operational Training Unit).
​The aircraft, a Vickers Wellington, was involved in a mid-air collision with another Wellington from the same unit and all occupants were killed.
​
​Flight Sergeant James Averd Wilson is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB

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