The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, in Englefield Green near Egham, Surrey, England, is dedicated to 20,456 men and women of the British Empire who were lost during operations in the Second World War and have no known grave.
In Memory of the Following Members: En mémoire des membres suivants :
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Reg. #12762
RCMP Constable Nicholas Clayton Rushton
WWII · KIA -
Reg. #13917
RCMP Constable Harold Ernest Leslie Chapman
WWII · KIA -
Reg. #11892
RCMP Constable Edward Earle Muffitt
WWII · KIA
R178903 Sergeant (No. 12 Operational Training Unit RCAF bomb aimer) Nicholas Clayton Rushton (b.1911) of Swift Current, SK was killed in action May 16, 1944 and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial for airmen from the north European theatre who died with no known grave.
Rushton’s Wellington failed to return from a night “nickel raid” — a propaganda leaflet drop — over the Saint-Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine area of France.
He was the son of Nicholas and Jean Fairweather (Youngson) Rushton of Edmonton. Nicholas Jr. was born and educated at Gadsby, Alberta, and had been a grain buyer when he joined the RCMP in 1935. He enlisted at Edmonton in 1942, leaving a wife, Dallas Mary (Perrigo), and son Nicholas Gary at Calgary.
J26941 Flying Officer (No. 144 Squadron RAF Pilot) Harold Ernest Leslie Chapman (b.1921) of Toronto, Ontario, was killed in action April 11, 1945 and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial for airmen from the north European theatre who died with no known grave.
Chapman’s Beaufighter crashed during an anti-shipping sortie to Fede Fjord, Norway.
Harold Chapman was the son of Rev. Thomas Henry and Blanche Elizabeth (Leslie) Chapman, who both came from Québec and later lived at Calgary. Harold was born at Blandford, Lunenburg Co., Nova Scotia, and educated at Lacombe and Stettler, Alberta. He joined the RCMP and served his first posting at Regina, SK before being transferred to Toronto, eleven months before enlisting at Calgary early in 1942.
In Memory of Reg. #11892, Edward Earle Muffitt En mémoire du Reg. #11892, Edward Earle Muffitt
Photographs and information courtesy of John Henderson, Vets Ottawa, ON — June 2015
Reg. #11892, Edward Earle Muffitt — Flight Lieutenant, J8372, Pilot, RCAF, No. 131 OTU, Catalina FP120, November 2, 1943.
Killed by his own depth charges when they exploded onboard his aircraft, causing it to crash into the sea near Makinmore Head, Northern Ireland. — Archives RG24 28299.
Memorial Address
Cooper’s Hill Lane, Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey TW20 0LB, United Kingdom
Sources & Appreciation
The Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial: svwm.ca — Constable Rushton (ID: A000010147)
The Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial: svwm.ca — Constable Chapman (ID: A000007122)
Archives RG24 28299 — Flight Lieutenant Muffitt
Photos and information for Constable Muffitt courtesy of John Henderson, Vets Ottawa, ON, June 2015
Runnymede Air Forces Memorial · England · RCMP Memorials · rcmpgraves.com Mémorial des Forces aériennes de Runnymede · Angleterre · Mémoriaux de la GRC · rcmpgraves.com
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