John Henry Kearney Leading Aircraftman R/188426 Royal Canadian Air Force August 27, 1924 Toronto, Ontario August 27, 1942 No. 11 RCAF Recruiting Centre, Toronto, ON Toronto, Ontario 18 5 feet, 7 ¾ inches Fair Brown Blue Single Student Roman Catholic Margaret Kearney (Mother) June 15, 1943 18 Toronto (Mount Hope) Cemetery, Ontario Section 23, Lot 898

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

John Henry Kearney was the son of Patrick Joseph Kearney (1884-1941) and Mary Winnifred ‘Mame’ (Radigan) Kearney, of Toronto, Ontario, and the brother of Bertram Patrick Kearney, Leonard Joseph Kearney, and Helen Theresa Kearney. His brother, Leonard Kearney, served with rank of Pilot Officer as a fighter pilot in Egypt and Europe during WWII. His brother, Brigadier General Bertram ‘Bert’ Patrick Kearney, MBE, CD, QHDS, served in WWII as a Major in the Dental Corps with the Canadian Army overseas. He also served in the Korean War, and other posts including Director General of Dental Services for the Canadian Armed Forces. John enjoyed rugby, hockey, baseball, and tennis. It was noted during his training that he was keen, alert, capable, and courageous with a mature, assured manner; and gave in an impression of resoluteness and dependability. John provided his date of birth as 1923 on his attestation papers; however, he was actually born in 1924. During Air Bomber training, John Kearney lost his life in a flying accident at 6:55 pm on June 15, 1943. The incident occurred when Anson No. 7339 collided with Anson No. 7566, the aircraft on which he was aboard. The two Anson aircraft crashed about three miles east of Willow Grove Bombing Target, flying from the No. 1 Bombing and Gunnery School at Jarvis, Ontario. The four crew on Anson 7566 were killed, as well as three of the four crew on Anson 7339. The pilot of Anson 7339, Pilot Officer R. C. Herring (Service No. J/24294), survived the crash. Leading Aircraftman Hector Patrick Samuel, also an 18-year-old trainee, was a casualty on Anson 7339.

John (Jack) Henry Kearney photo: courtesy of Susan Lynch Inwood