James Neil Gordon Sergeant R/259515 626 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force November 20, 1925 Harriston, Wellington County, Ontario June 2, 1943 No. 9 RCAF Recruiting Centre, London, Ontario Harriston, Wellington County, Ontario 17 5 feet, 7 ½ inches Medium Brown Brown Single Farming Presbyterian Frank Ernest Gordon (Father) July 1, 1944 18 Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, England Panel 255

Name: Rank: Service No: Service: Date of Birth: Place of Birth: Date of Enlistment: Place of Enlistment: Address at Enlistment Age at Enlistment: Height: Complexion: Eye Colour: Hair Colour: Marital Status: Trade: Religion: Next of Kin: Date of Death: Age at Death: Cemetery: Grave Reference:

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

James Neil Gordon was the son of Francis Ernest Gordon (b. 1889) and Catherine Wilma (Brown) Gordon (b. 1898), and the brother of Emma Gordon (b. 1923) and Frances Katharine Gordon (b. 1929). James enjoyed baseball and hockey. He attended the No. 11 Minto Public School from 1932-1940, the Harriston High School in 1940- 1941, and the Kitchener Technical School for 4 months to learn drafting and mathematics. He then worked with his father, farming from 1941-1943 before enlisting in the RCAF. After training in Canada, James transferred to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for embarkation to the UK. He departed December 14th and arrived in England on December 21, 1943. From January 18 to March 26, 1944, he trained with No. 28 Operational Training Unit (28 OTU) at RAF Wymeswold, as part of No. 92 Group RAF Bomber Command training night bomber crews using the Vickers Wellington. James joined 646 Squadron at RAF Wickenby in Lincolnshire, England, on June 15, 1944. He was the Air Gunner on Lancaster bomber ME 774 when it took off at 9:55 pm on June 30, 1944, from RAF Wickenby to bomb railway yards and was lost without trace. With no known graves, all the crew including 5 RCAF and 2 RAF members are remembered on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, England.