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John Burns MALLETT

John Burns MALLETT

Male 1918 - 1943  (24 years)


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  • Name John Burns MALLETT 
    Birth 11 May 1918  Palmerston, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    Gender Male 
    Census 1 Jun 1921  Wallace Township, Perth County, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2] 
    • Fred was a widower. Jannet or Jeanet Charters, age 32, Housekeeper, lived with them.
    Military Service 28 Aug 1940  Galt, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    • Burns signed his attestation papers on this date. He was healthy and played several sports. He had completed "Senior Matriculation" in school (High School). He was apparently attending the Galt Aircraft School, and expressed his wish to train in the Air Force as an Air Engine Mechanic (AEM).

      The interviewing Officer described him as "keen, intelligent, neat, clean cut and athletic. He was accepted, as per his wish, to train as an AEM.

      More information can be found here:

      Palmerston Railway Museum
    Sgt J Burns Mallett    		 Sgt J Burns Mallett
    The photo is undated, but was probably taken shortly after his enlistment.
    Sgt J Burns Mallett    		 Sgt J Burns Mallett
    Burns was a Flight Engineer aboard the Lancaster Bomber pictured. He is third from the right.
    Sgt J Burns Mallett    		 Sgt J Burns Mallett
    Sergeant J B Mallett, Sergeant H H Turkentine and Sergeant R H P Roberts, flight engineer, bomb aimer and rear gunner, respectively, of an Avro Lancaster B Mark I of No. 57 Squadron RAF, eat breakfast in the Sergeants' Mess at Scampton, Lincolnshire, following their return from a night raid. All three were killed with the rest of the crew of Lancaster R5894 ' DX-T' ("T for Tommy") when it collided with high tension cables near Scampton upon returning from a raid on Berlin in the early morning of 2 March 1943.

    Photo and caption courtesy Imperial War Museums:

    ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND, 1942-1945. ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND, 1942-1945. © IWM (CH 8806)
    Photo Abt Sep 1940  Wallace Township, Perth County, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Fred and Burns Mallett    		 Fred and Burns Mallett
    Undated photo, taken at the Mallett farm on the occasion of the enlistment of brothers Burns and Fred Mallett in the Canadian Armed Forces during the Second World Way. Fred enlisted in the army, while Burns chose the Air Force. Sadly Burns would lose his life about 3 years later.

    Photo courtesy Kate Wick, Palmerston.
    SW Group 1 
    UKC 1881 N 
    Alternate Name Burns Mallett 
    Death 2 Mar 1943  Scampton, Lincolnshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 3] 
    • Burns was a Flight Engineer aboard a Lancaster Bomber. The aircraft was returning from an operational sortie [over Berlin] and crashed short of the [Scampton] aerodrome. The aircraft was completely engulfed in flames and destroyed, and all those onboard died. Since the aircraft was destroyed as a result of the accident, it was not possible to determine if there were some contributing factors such as flak damage from the mission — the official cause was that the aircraft's port wing tip collided with high tension cables and crashed. Pilot error was not considered to be a factor, because "F/O (Flight Officer) Greenan was a reliable and good pilot".

      Burns's body was completely incinerated. He was only identifed by his dog tags and his position in the aircraft.
    Sgt J Burns Mallett    		 Sgt J Burns Mallett
    Sergeant J B Mallett, a flight engineer on board an Avro Lancaster B Mark I of No. 57 Squadron RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, checks the readings on the aircraft's control panel.

    Given that his "position in aircraft" was one of the reasons that the investigators were able to identify him after the crash, one assumes his body must have been near that control panel.

    Photo and caption courtesy Imperial War Museums:

    ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND, 1942-1945. ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND, 1942-1945. © IWM (CH 8792)
    Burial 5 Mar 1943  St John the Baptist, Scampton, Lincolnshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [4] 
    • New Part. Grave 23.
    Scampton Churchyard    		 Scampton Churchyard
    Photo Courtesy Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
    Person ID I330  Southwest
    Last Modified 29 Apr 2023 

    Father Frederick Thomas MALLETT,   b. 13 Dec 1884, Riverside Farm, Arthur Township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1969, Palmerston, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 84 years) 
    Mother Mary Luella BURNS,   b. 1889   d. 1 Mar 1920, Palmerston, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 31 years) 
    Marriage 21 Jun 1911  Minto Township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [5, 6] 
    Family ID F107  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 11 May 1918 - Palmerston, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsCensus - 1 Jun 1921 - Wallace Township, Perth County, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMilitary Service - 28 Aug 1940 - Galt, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsPhoto - Abt Sep 1940 - Wallace Township, Perth County, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Sources 
    1. [S3657] "Second World War Service Files – War Dead, 1939 to 1947", database with images, Library and Archives Canada, (https://library-archives.canada.ca/, accessed Nov 17, 2022), entry for John Burns Mallett, Galt, Ontario, Canada, Aug 9, 1940, Military Service File, Archive Reference RG 24, Volume 28174, Service# R70158.

    2. [S3734] "1921 Census of Canada", database with images, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com accessed 7 Apr 2023), household of Frederick Thomas Mallett, Wallace Poll Sub Dw 5-6, Ontario, Canada, District 116, Sub-District 19, Page 3, Family/Line 32, original record held by Library and Archives Canada (LAC), Ottawa, Canada, Reference RG 31, Folder 81.

    3. [S3716] "Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1948", database with images, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com, accessed 7 Apr 2023), "Death", entry for John Burns Mallett, Overseas (Military), 2 Mar 1943, original record held by Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, File Reference MS944 Reel 3.

    4. [S3655] "Commonwealth War Graves Commission", database, CWGC, (https://www.cwgc.org/ accessed 16 Nov 2022), entry for John Burns Mallett, Service Number: R/70158, buried or commemorated at Scampton (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard, New Part. Grave 23., United Kingdom, 2 Mar 1943.

    5. [S3728] "Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1938", database with images, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com, accessed 7 Apr 2023), "Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928", entry for Frederick Thomas Mallett & Mary Luella Burns, Wellington, Ontario, Canada, 21 Jun 1911, original record held by Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, File Reference Reel 155.

    6. [S3729] "Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1938", database with images, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com, accessed 7 Apr 2023), "Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928", entry for Frederick Thomas Mallet & Mary Luella Burns, Wellington, Ontario, Canada, 21 Jun 1911, original record held by Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, File Reference Reel 182.