World War II
-
MIA
Fallen
Circumstances:
On March 5, 1943, his Short Stirling I (#R9271) aircraft, with an aircrew of seven, took off from RAF Ridgewell for a night air operation over Essen, Germany. R9271 crashed at Heumisch Bauernhof, in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg, taking the lives of three of the crew; the four other members of the aircrew were captured and taken POW. Pilot Officer Courtney was one of the casualties but his body was never recovered.
Biography:
James Boyd Courtney was born on February 23, 1920, in Lawton, Ramsey County, North Dakota. He was the son of Alex and Margaret (née Boyd) Courtney of Lawton (both parents born in Ireland); husband of Edna May Courtney of Hornchurch, Essex, England; brother of William, David, Lillian, Hannah, Agnes, and Alice.
A farm laborer by trade, residing in Lawton, North Dakota, USA, he enlisted in the RCAF on March 10, 1941, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. James served in the 90 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Pilot Officer.
On March 5, 1943, his Short Stirling I (#R9271) aircraft, with an aircrew of seven, took off from RAF Ridgewell for a night air operation over Essen, Germany. R9271 crashed at Heumisch Bauernhof, in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg, taking the lives of three of the crew; the four other members of the aircrew were captured and taken POW. Pilot Officer Courtney was one of the casualties but his body was never recovered.
He is on the Runnymede Memorial Panel 175, Englefield Green, Runnymede Borough, Surrey, England