Flying Officer Herbert Andrew Fawcett D.F.C.
Survivor of WW2
Date of Death:
Service Biography
Herbert Andrew Fawcett was born in Yorkshire, England, on 12 November 1922. He attended Wilsden School in England and Huntingdon Academy after his family settled in Huntingdon, Quebec. He worked at his family's Fawcett & Grant textile mill and spent a year in the Huntingdon Cadet Corps before enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force at Montreal on 9 October 1941. He trained as a pilot and went overseas in June 1943. With No. 139 Squadron he completed a bomber tour of 54 sorties. During a September 1944 attack on Berlin his aircraft was caught by searchlights and badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire, but he completed the attack and returned safely. For his courage and devotion to duty he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was released from wartime service on 13 September 1945. By 1946 he had returned to Fawcett & Grant in Huntingdon as an assistant superintendent. His wife Ivy May and their child, delayed in England by postwar immigration and repatriation procedures, had joined him in Huntingdon by October 1946. He later remained active in Huntingdon United Church, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 81 and Chateauguay Masonic Lodge #36. He died at home on 1 September 2000, aged 77, and was buried in Huntingdon Protestant Cemetery.
General Information
Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
J86875
Cause of Death (in war):
Survived
Branch:
Air Force
Regiment:
Royal Canadian Air Force
Battalion:
No. 139 Squadron
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
Wilsden, Yorkshire, England
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
18 years 10 months
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
22 years 10 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
77 years 9 months
Country Born:
Trade or Calling:
Warper
Next of Kin:
Alexander Fawcett, Father, 35 Hunter Street, Huntingdon, Quebec
Address at Enlistment:
35 Hunter Street, Huntingdon, Quebec
Religion:
United Church of Canada
Place of Enlistment:
Montreal, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
No
Height:
5 ft 9.0 in / 175 cm
Weight:
119 lbs / 54 kg
Chest:
29.8 in / 76 cm
Expansion:
2.0 in / 5 cm
Marital Status:
Married
Prior Military Experience:
No
Saw Service in:
Europe
Place of Discharge:
Canada
Discharge Type:
Regular/End of Service
Discharge Notes:
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
1435 days in service
Buried at:
Links
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW2 |
Flying Officer |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
No. 139 Squadron |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Pilot Officer |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
No. 139 Squadron |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Temporary Warrant Officer 1st Class |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
RCAF Overseas |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Temporary Warrant Officer 2nd Class |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
RCAF Overseas |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Temporary Flight Sergeant |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
Pilot / training duties |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Acting Flight Sergeant |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
Pilot / training duties |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Temporary Sergeant |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
Pilot training / operational preparation |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Leading Aircraftman |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
RCAF training system |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Aircraftman 2nd Class |
Royal Canadian Air Force |
Air Force |
RCAF training system |
|
|
|
Awards
| Conflict |
Award |
Action |
Date of Award |
Date of Citation |
Source |
| WW2 |
Distinguished Flying Cross |
Bombing operations against Berlin |
|
|
London Gazette / AFRO 2637/44 |
| During a September 1944 bombing run on Berlin his aircraft was illuminated by searchlights and subjected to heavy anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft was hit and badly damaged; the hydraulic system was put out of action and the port engine rendered useless. He nevertheless completed the attack, returned to England and landed safely with the undercarriage retracted. The citation noted his outstanding courage and devotion to duty and that 14 of his sorties had been against Berlin. |
| WW2 |
Pilot's Flying Badge |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
1939-45 Star |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
France and Germany Star |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Defence Medal |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
War Medal 1939-45 |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
RCAF Operational Wings |
|
|
|
|
Service Chronology
1928 to 1931 — Attended Wilsden School from 1928 to 1931 in Wilsden, England.
1931 to 1941 — Attended Huntingdon Academy from 1931 to 1941 in Huntingdon, Quebec.
1939 to 1940 — Worked as a warper at Fawcett & Grant Textile Mill in Huntingdon, Quebec, before returning to school.
1941-06 to 1941-10 — Worked again as a warper at Fawcett & Grant Textile Mill in Huntingdon, Quebec, until enlistment.
1941-09-25 — Completed his RCAF recruiting interview in Montreal, Quebec; he was described as pleasant, frank and straightforward, fairly good in mathematics, confident and alert, and best fitted for pilot/observer aircrew duties.
1943-06-05 — Posted to No. 1 Y Depot in Canada for overseas movement.
1943-06-22 — Posted to the RAF Training Pool in Canada for overseas service.
1943-06-23 — Embarked at Halifax, Nova Scotia, for overseas service.
1943-07-01 — Disembarked in the United Kingdom.
1943-07-02 — Taken on strength at No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre in the United Kingdom.
1943-10-12 — Posted to No. 21 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit in the United Kingdom.
1943-12-20 — Posted to No. 82 Operational Training Unit in the United Kingdom.
1944 — Served operationally with No. 139 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, flying Mosquito operations in the European Theatre; completed one operational tour of 54 sorties and 200 operational flying hours.
1944-07-19 — A family declaration recorded him as unmarried with no children; both parents were alive at 35 Hunter Street in Huntingdon, Quebec, his father Alex Fawcett was president of the textile mill, and Andrew held a Manufacturers Life Insurance policy.
1944-09-16 — Completed his last operational sortie with No. 139 Squadron, ending a 54-sortie bomber tour in the European Theatre.
1944-09-30 — Posted from No. 139 Squadron to No. 1655 Mosquito Training Unit in the United Kingdom after completing his operational tour.
1944-10-18 to 1944-11-29 — Completed Flying Instructor's Course No. 72 while serving with No. 1655 Mosquito Training Unit in the United Kingdom; assessed average as a pilot and below average as a flying instructor, with further practice recommended.
1944-11-14 — The Minister of National Defence for Air wrote to Mr. and Mrs. A. Fawcett at 35 Hunter Street in Huntingdon, Quebec, congratulating them on Andrew Fawcett's Distinguished Flying Cross; this conflicts with 25 Hunter Street in other DFC publicity.
1944-12-11 — Posted from No. 1655 Mosquito Training Unit to PNTU in the United Kingdom for non-operational flying duties.
1945-02-03 — Posted to No. 16 Operational Training Unit in the United Kingdom for further non-operational flying duties.
1945-09-13 — Completed his term of voluntary active service and transferred to the RCAF Reserve, General Section, Class E, at Huntingdon, Quebec; his address on transfer was 35 Hunter Street.
1946-08-31 — Ivy May Fawcett completed the documentation required for her and the child to travel from England to Canada (England / Canada).
1946-10-09 — Correspondence records Ivy May Fawcett at Drawer L in Huntingdon, Quebec, after joining Andrew in Canada.
1946-11-04 — Herbert Andrew Fawcett wrote from Drawer L, Huntingdon, Quebec, regarding the...
Notes
Born in Wilsden, Yorkshire, England. Education: Wilsden School, 1928-1931, followed by Huntingdon Academy, 1931-1941, including primary schooling and four years of high school. He worked as a warper at Fawcett & Grant Textile Mill in 1939-1940, left to return to school, and resumed there from June 1941 until enlistment. He spent one year in the Huntingdon Cadet Corps, but his RCAF attestation explicitly records no previous Naval, Military or Air Force service. His pilot-training assessments show improvement from early weaknesses to a high-average pilot rating at service flying training. By August 1946 he was again working at Fawcett & Grant Limited, taking up designing and serving as an assistant superintendent. Sports included hockey, rugby and swimming. Postwar obituary records active membership in Huntingdon United Church, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 81 and Chateauguay Masonic Lodge #36. The recruiting interview described him as a pleasant, frank, straightforward English-born youth, fairly good in mathematics, confident, upright, neat/conservative in dress, clear and quick in speech/response, alert and sincere. The interviewer rated him average overall, marked him borderline for commissioned rank, and considered him best fitted for pilot/observer aircrew duties.
[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]
BIRTH OCT 1922 • Wilsden, Yorkshire (West Riding), England DEATH 2000 • Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada
married Mrs. Fawcett was formerly Miss Ivy Hutchcraft, of Ramsey, Huntingdonshire, England.
married Mary Jane Hainault 1956
Awarded DFC
Request confirmation number EA2026_0172274
Additional Service Notes
RCAF pilot J86875 (earlier air-force number R135115). Enlisted 9 October 1941 and trained in Canada, receiving his Pilot's Flying Badge on 11 September 1942. Posted to No. 1 Y Depot on 5 June 1943, to the RAF Training Pool on 22 June, embarked Halifax 23 June, disembarked in the United Kingdom 1 July, and was taken on strength at No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre on 2 July 1943. Further UK training included No. 21 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit and No. 82 Operational Training Unit. He then served operationally with No. 139 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, flying Mosquito bombers in the European theatre. He completed one operational tour of 54 sorties and 200 operational flying hours; his last operational sortie was 16 September 1944. His DFC citation arose from this operational service. On 30 September 1944 he was posted to No. 1655 Mosquito Training Unit, where he undertook a flying-instructor course from 18 October to 29 November 1944. Later non-operational postings included PNTU from 11 December 1944 and No. 16 Operational Training Unit from 3 February 1945. His repatriation interview records 577 overseas flying hours: 200 operational and 377 non-operational.
Additional Next of Kin Notes
Wartime father/NOK Alexander (Alex) Fawcett and his wife were recorded at 35 Hunter Street, Huntingdon. A family declaration dated 19 July 1944 records Andrew as unmarried with no children, both parents alive at 35 Hunter Street, and his father Alex Fawcett as president of the textile mill. It also records a Manufacturers Life Insurance policy. DFC publicity paperwork gives 25 Hunter Street, but a dated 14 November 1944 RCAF letter to his parents again gives 35 Hunter Street; the 25/35 discrepancy is therefore retained as an unresolved source discrepancy. He married Ivy May Hutchcraft on 23 August 1944 at the Parish Church in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire, England, and by July 1945 they had one child. By October 1946 Ivy and the child had joined him in Huntingdon. The 2000 obituary names his later wife Nova Rogers; daughters Andrea Fawcett (England) and Sandra (Ernest Picard); granddaughter Amanda Picard; siblings Vera (Jack Blake), Gwen (Donald MacGregor), Keith (Sarah), and Mary Haineault, who predeceased him.
Version: 3 Last modified: 2026-10-05 02:05:04
by: marc
