Personnel Index - Detail

Name
DICKIE
First Names
Alexander McKeen
Rank
WOII
Service
RCAF
Service Number
R65419
Crew Position
Bomb Aimer
Age
25
Date of Death
28/02/1943
Cemetery

 

Photographed by Malcolm Brooke

28 February/ 1 March, 1943; ST NAZAIRE:

The weather all the way through February had been unpredictable, and the last day of the month was no exception. The morning started fine, but high gusting winds soon developed bringing with it rain squalls.
Weather-beaten crews gathered at briefing to learn that the evening’s target was St Nazaire; the second U-boat base to be selected for demolition. A large force consisting of 437 aircraft was dispatched. Fiskerton's contribution (8 aircraft) was a mixture of experienced crews and novices.

Bomber Command lost 5 aircraft; 2 Wellingtons, 1 Stirling and 2 Lancasters. Sadly, one of the Lancasters came from Fiskerton. The aircraft, flown by 26 year old Canadian pilot W/O Fred Duncan and crew, came down in the target area; sadly all onboard perished. Some rest in a joint grave at Loire-Atlantique in France, with crew members of an 83 Squadron Lancaster brought down on the same night.

Lancaster ED467 (EA-E)
Sgt F.C. Duncan RCAF Pilot (Killed)
Sgt R. Brookes F/E (Killed)
F/O R.G. McCracken NAV (Killed)
Sgt H. Kay W/AG (Killed)
Sgt D.W. Belsham A/G (Killed)
F/S A.M. Dickie RCAF A/B (Killed)
Sgt J.A. Kelly A/G (Killed)

Crew on their 9th operation

An unfortunately low resolution image of F/S Dickie.

Sgt Dickie trained with 12 OTU (Image from the Canadian Virtual Memorial via Paul Markham.