An airman remembered
Kivalliq region played major role in life of Sgt. William Green
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
RANKIN INLET
An airman who gave his life during the Second World War has strong ties to the Kivalliq region.
Pelagie Nichol and Arsene Angalik proudly display a photo this past week in Rankin Inlet of their grandfather, William Henry Green, who went down over Germany during the Second World War. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo |
Sgt. William Henry Green of the RCAF 432 Air Squadron lost his life when his plane went down near Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 2, 1943.
Green arrived in Canada from England in 1930.
He worked on a farm in southern Manitoba before joining the Hudson's Bay Co. in 1933 as an apprentice clerk.
He was stationed in Arviat (Eskimo Point) from 1933 to 1935, before leaving the company to trap on his own in the Arviat area until 1938.
During that time he met his future wife, Mary (Qahurachiaq) Ollybuk, with whom he had two daughters, Emily Edith Green (Angalik) and Irene Elizabeth Green (Kablutsiak).
Green was fluent in Inuktitut and was well known by his Inuit name of Titiraqti (the writer).
Darren Nichol, the husband of Green's granddaughter, Pelagie, has grown fascinated with Green's story over the years.
Nichol said when the storm clouds of war started to brew over Europe, Green left Arviat to join the Canadian Army in Winnipeg in 1939.
He said Green signed up with the First Canadian Engineer's Reinforcement Unit, in which he rose to the rank of corporal.
"Green was a sapper in that unit, which meant he basically worked to sustain the soldiers," said Nichol.
"The sappers built the camp, dug the wells, built the bridges and trained people in various jobs.
"His job saw him be a weapons trainer, a field engineer and a drill engineer.
"He was with them from 1939 until 1942, when he got discharged to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)."
Green joined the RCAF as an air gunner (with rank of sergeant) and, in the fall of 1942, was assigned to the RCAF 432 Air Squadron that flew Lancaster bombers based out of Leaside, England.
The squadron was part of the all-Canadian 6 Unit.
Green flew 10 successful missions that amounted to spending 55 hours in the air over enemy territory, before losing his life during his 11th mission.
Nichol said what happened that fateful night is still not exactly clear.
He said Green's Lancaster LL618 departed Leaside with a crew of eight at about 5 p.m. on Dec. 2, 1943, and was due to return to its base around midnight.
"Green's squadron was part of the air campaign over Berlin. It was just relentless, with squadron after squadron of Canadian, Australian and British planes flying from Great Britain to bomb targets in Germany.
"The losses on both sides were crazy high. A telegram was sent from the International Red Cross Committee confirming that LL618 had crashed and its crew were all presumed dead."
Letters confirming Green's fate went out to his wife, Mary, his parents and his daughter, Emily.
The Canadian Armed Forces would send out investigators to confirm the identities of Canadian soldiers who had fallen in battle behind enemy lines.
Nichol said a crew of investigators was sent to Green's crash site in 1946 to investigate what had happened to three Lancaster bombers that didn't return that night.
He said the wreckage was gone by their arrival, but, after talking to townspeople, they were taken to a grave marked by a single cross where 16 airmen had been buried together without coffins.
"In talking with the local people, it was confirmed two planes had gone down at about the same time, their bodies were collected and they were buried together by German authorities.
"They could have been hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, but investigators seemed to lean toward a theory that the two airplanes, one British and one Canadian, came together in mid-air.
"You have thousands of Lancaster bombers flying at night in bad weather with no GPS and all the lights turned out.
"It happened more than people might think."
Nichol said Green's surviving family in the Kivalliq is very, very proud of him.
He said Green is buried in the Berlin War Cemetery in a joint grave with another airman.
"The 16 airmen who died together that night are buried together in the same row.
"The province of Manitoba named a section of the Seal River after him, known as Green Rapids, and he's commemorated every year on April 4 at the Ottawa Peace Tower.
"His name is included on the list of the fallen they have there, along with thousands of other Canadians who gave their lives.
"And, who knows, it would be pretty cool to bring things full circle by taking a journey over to Germany one day to see where Sgt. Green is buried."
