Charles Coburn Elliott Cleland was born at Ormstown, Quebec, on 1 August 1914. After training in electrical work, he joined the Royal Air Force in July 1938 and became a wireless operator and air gunner. With No. 59 Squadron he flew operational sorties from France and England, including reconnaissance, bombing, convoy escort, anti-submarine and shipping patrol missions. His records state that he completed about 55 operational sorties over two RAF tours, and he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. Cleland was commissioned Pilot Officer in November 1942, promoted Flying Officer in May 1943 and appointed Acting Flight Lieutenant in June 1944. He transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force in September 1944 and served as a gunnery officer and instructor in Canada. He was honourably released as a Flight Lieutenant on 23 March 1946. Cleland married Margaret Augusta Tufts in 1943. He died in Ottawa, Ontario, on 30 September 1988 at the age of 74.
Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
615352
Cause of Death (in war):
Survived
Branch:
Air Force
Regiment:
Royal Canadian Air Force
Battalion:
Mountain View / training and release postings
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
Ormstown, Quebec
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
30 years 1 month
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
31 years 7 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
74 years 4 months
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Electrician
Next of Kin:
Margaret Augusta Cleland (Wife), 267 Foster Avenue, Belleville, Ontario
Address at Enlistment:
267 Foster Avenue, Belleville, Ontario
Religion:
Presbyterian
Place of Enlistment:
Mountain View, Ontario
Was a Prisoner of War:
Height:
5 ft 8.0 in / 173 cm
Weight:
164 lbs / 74 kg
Chest:
39.0 in / 99 cm
Expansion:
3.0 in / 8 cm
Marital Status:
Not Specified
Prior Military Experience:
Yes
Saw Service in:
Europe
Place of Discharge:
Lachine, Quebec
Discharge Type:
Regular/End of Service
Discharge Notes:
Honourably released from the RCAF effective 23 Mar 1946 under K.R. (Air) 151(1)(i), on completion of a term of voluntary service during an emergency. Transferred to the RCAF Reserve, General Section, Class E. Release processing was through No. 2 Release Centre, Lachine, Quebec.
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
568 days in service
Buried at:
Links
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW2 |
Flight Lieutenant |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
Mountain View / training and release postings |
|
|
|
| Explicitly Flight Lieutenant by 12 Jan 1945 and final rank at release. Date From intentionally blank rather than inventing the promotion date. |
| WW2 |
Flying Officer |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
RCAF Station Mountain View |
|
|
|
| RCAF transfer effective 1 Sep 1944. Nov-Dec 1944 correspondence still states Flying Officer; exact date of promotion to Flight Lieutenant is not established. |
| WW2 |
Acting Flight Lieutenant |
Royal Air Force |
Air Force |
|
|
|
|
| Appointment effective 1 Jun 1944. |
| WW2 |
Flying Officer |
Royal Air Force |
Air Force |
|
|
|
|
| Effective 18 May 1943. |
| WW2 |
Pilot Officer |
Royal Air Force |
Air Force |
|
|
|
|
| Commission effective 18 Nov 1942. |
| WW2 |
Aircraftman 2nd Class |
Royal Air Force |
Air Force |
Wireless School / No. 59 Squadron |
|
|
|
| Wireless Operator/Air Gunner; operational RAF service. |
| WW2 |
Pilot Officer |
RCAF or RAF |
|
120th Squadron |
|
|
|
Awards
| Conflict |
Award |
Action |
Date of Award |
Date of Citation |
Source |
| WW2 |
Defence Medal |
|
|
|
RCAF certificate |
| WW2 |
Distinguished Flying Medal |
Awarded for RAF operational service as Wireless Operator/Air Gunner. |
|
|
London Gazette date cited in 2000 research correspondence |
| Awarded for RAF operational service as Wireless Operator/Air Gunner. |
| WW2 |
Operational Wings |
|
|
|
RCAF service certificate / correspondence |
| WW2 |
1939-1945 Star |
|
|
|
RCAF award records |
| WW2 |
Atlantic Star |
|
|
|
RCAF award application |
| WW2 |
Air Crew Europe Star |
|
|
|
RCAF award application |
| WW2 |
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp |
|
|
|
RCAF service certificate / award card |
| WW2 |
War Medal 1939-1945 |
|
|
|
RCAF service certificate / award card |
Service Chronology
1914-08-01 — Born.
1938-07-12 — Joined the Royal Air Force; subsequently trained as a wireless operator/air gunner.
1939-09 — Began operational service with No. 59 Squadron from France.
1940-05 to 1940-06 — Operational sorties included bombing and reconnaissance over France, Belgium and Holland.
1940-05-10 — By this date approximately seven operational sorties had already been flown but were missing from the surviving log-book extract.
1940-05-12 — First operational sortie date recorded on the 1939-45 Star application.
1940-08 — Awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for RAF service; later correspondence cites London Gazette 6 Aug 1940.
1940-11 to 1941-04 — Operational sorties from England included bombing, convoy escort, anti-submarine and shipping patrol duties over Lorient, Brest, the French coast, English Channel and North Sea.
1941-04-28 to 1941-06-02 — Further No. 59 Squadron sorties included convoy escort, shipping patrol and bombing operations.
1942-11-18 — Commissioned Pilot Officer in the RAF.
1943-05-18 — Promoted Flying Officer in the RAF.
1943-12-04 — Married Margaret Augusta Tufts.
1944-06-01 — Appointed Acting Flight Lieutenant in the RAF.
1944-09-01 — Transferred from RAF to RCAF and commissioned/appointed in the RCAF.
1944-10-31 — Submitted memorandum seeking a Bar to Operational Wings, stating approximately 55 sorties/two RAF operational tours.
1944-11-10 — Certified operational-history statement noted completion of two tours and repatriation to Canada as an instructor.
1944-12 — Operational Wings Bar not approved; review treated his service as one qualifying tour under the applicable time criterion.
1945-01-12 — Began Special Officers' Administrative Course No. 3.
1945-02-08 — Completed Special Officers' Administrative Course No. 3; recommended for routine administrative work.
1945-04-07 — Son Robert John Cleland born.
1945-08 — Application for RCAF Regular General List recorded about 550 flying hours: 160 operational and 350 instructional.
1946-03-18 — Transferred from staff to trainee for retirement/release processing.
1946-03-23 — Honourably released from RCAF as Flight Lieutenant and transferred to RCAF Reserve, General Section, Class E.
1988-09-30 — Died at age 74.
1989 — Interment of cremated remains was planned for the spring at Deep River.
Notes
Born at Ormstown, Quebec, Cleland attended Franklin Centre school, Huntingdon Academy and the Canadian School of Electricity. He had civilian electrical training and experience before military service. His RCAF applications describe previous electrical construction and maintenance work and substantial RAF aircrew experience. Personnel assessments described him as steady and reliable. He married Margaret Augusta Tufts at Belleville, Ontario, on 4 December 1943; their son Robert John Cleland was born there on 7 April 1945.
[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]
Born at: Ormstown, 15 Aug. 1915.
BIRTH 01 AUG 1914 • Ormstown, Le Haut-Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada DEATH 30 SEP 1988 • Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
bio
https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/34425414/person/160080938328/media/2a3323d3-449e-4fbb-bb31-a8716c8bd237?queryId=69005f88-f505-485f-b3c0-823c12df10a0&searchContextTreeId=&searchContextPersonId=&_phsrc=PwO117&_phstart=successSource
DFM:
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62074/images/34915-00011?rc=&queryId
Additional Service Notes
Charles Coburn Elliott Cleland joined the Royal Air Force on 12 July 1938 and trained as a wireless operator/air gunner. With No. 59 Squadron he flew operational sorties from France and England, including strategic reconnaissance, bombing, convoy escort, anti-submarine patrol and shipping patrol duties over France, Belgium, Holland, the English Channel and North Sea. His surviving records state that he completed about 55 operational sorties, recognized by the RAF as two tours, and he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. He was commissioned Pilot Officer on 18 November 1942, promoted Flying Officer on 18 May 1943 and appointed Acting Flight Lieutenant on 1 June 1944. He transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force effective 1 September 1944 and served as a Wireless Air Gunner/Gunnery Officer, principally at RCAF Station Mountain View and later in training and administrative work. He was serving as a Flight Lieutenant by January 1945 and was honourably released in that rank on 23 March 1946.
[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]
Additional Next of Kin Notes
Married Margaret Augusta Tufts at Belleville, Ontario, on 4 Dec 1943. Son Robert John Cleland was born at Belleville General Hospital on 7 Apr 1945. Mother: Elizabeth Wingate Grace Vidler, born Aubrey, Quebec; father Charles Archibald Cleland, farmer, born Hemmingford, Quebec, deceased by 1944.
[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]
Research Notes
The file contains multiple service numbers associated with Cleland's RAF/RCAF career. The primary RCAF WWII service number is C47916 and is used for CWVMP import. The existing CWVMP number 615352 is identified in later award documentation as an RAF number, while several RAF/RCAF transfer and pay records also show RAF number 51212; do not replace C47916 with either RAF number. Repeated service-file evidence establishes date of birth as 1 Aug 1914; the conflicting 1915 date in the existing CWVMP notes is not supported by the service file. RAF rank chronology is well supported: Pilot Officer effective 18 Nov 1942, Flying Officer effective 18 May 1943 and Acting Flight Lieutenant effective 1 Jun 1944. After transfer to the RCAF effective 1 Sep 1944, Nov-Dec 1944 correspondence still describes his RCAF rank as Flying Officer, while records from Jan 1945 onward style him Flight Lieutenant. The exact effective RCAF promotion date is therefore unresolved and should not be invented. Cleland stated that he completed approximately 55 operational sorties/two RAF tours. His Operational Wings were recognized, but his application for a Bar was not approved under the RCAF qualification rule then applied. The Distinguished Flying Medal is certain; the Canadian file does not contain the original citation. A 2000 LAC reply says the citation/action documentation was likely held in British RAF/Public Record Office records and references the London Gazette of 6 Aug 1940. Existing CWVMP unit '120th Squadron' is unsupported by the supplied service file and should not be propagated into the new record.
