Name: Paul Herman Brittain Rank: Pilot Officer (Air Gunner) Service No: J/88448 Regiment/Service: Royal Canadian Air Force 10 (Royal Air Force) Squadron Date of Birth: November 2, 1924 Place of Birth: Brooklyn, Yarmouth Co., NS Date of Enlistment: November 5, 1942 Place of Enlistment: Halifax, NS Age at Enlistment: 18 Height: 5 feet, inches Complexion: Medium Eyes: Blue Hair: Brown Trade: Farmer Marital Status: Single Religion: Baptist Next of Kin: Mrs. Dora Martha Brittain (Mother) Brooklyn, Yarmouth Co., NS Date of Death: July 21, 1944 Age: 19 Cemetery: Reichswald Forest War Cemetery (Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany) Grave Reference: 23. E. 17. The 19th name on the WWII list of the Yarmouth War Memorial Commemorated on page 258 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on May 30 Pilot Officer Paul Brittain was the son of Robert McQueenie Brittain and Dora Martha (Tinkham) Brittain, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. He attended school in Brooklyn between 1929 and 1941 completing grade 10. Following school until his enlistment he worked on his father’s farm. He was trained as an Air Gunner in Canada and embarked for England on August 26, 1943 arriving on September 1, 1943. He was initially assigned to No. 15 Operational Training Unit and then to No. 10 Squadron RAF on April 26, 1944. On the night of July 20, 1944 the Halifax III LV.912 with a crew of eight left base at 11:11 pm to carry out bombing operations against Bottrop, Germany. The aircraft was due over the target at approximately 1:35 am on July 21, 1944; however, failed to return to base. Word was received from the International Red Cross quoting German information that Flight Sergeant Brittain was killed on July 21 and was buried on July 22 in the Cemetery, Schoppinggen, located ten miles east north-east of Ahaus, Germany. Paul Brittain was the only Royal Canadian Air Force member of the eight crew members. In 1947, his body was re-interred in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Sources and Information: Commonwealth War Graves Commission Veterans Affairs Canada