Frank Davidson was among those who never returned

It’s been 76 years that have passed since Flt.-sgt. Frank Edwards Davidson of Debert, N.S., was listed as missing and presumed dead over the North Sea.

Frank joined the RCAF in 1940, trained in Alberta and was posted overseas in 1941. Frank was in bomber command and attached to the RAF at Bourne, Cambridge, England.

ey ew an English bomber, a large four-engine plane, with a crew of nine. It was a lower and slower ying aircraft.

Information from Frank’s letters and from friends who had visited with him, revealed the high risk involved on the bombing operations. On every bombing mission they were quite sure a number of their squadron aircraft would not make it back to base. The flights to Germany were long and entailed flying through most of the night.

Frank was born in 1921, had just turned 21 years old, and was on his 21st mission the night the plane failed to return. ere were nine others listed among the missing. ey were homeward bound and 30 miles o the coast of Denmark over the North Sea. e last message from the plane’s crew reported the outer port motor was unserviceable

I will always remember the day word came to our door that Frank was missing. e shock was a terrible blow to our family and one I will never forget

Frank’s name is inscribed on the stone reveals of the narrow windows of Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, United Kingdom. Runnymede overlooks the River ames on Cooper Hill at Englefield Green, four miles from Windsor. This is the place Frank and more than 3,000 other Canadian airmen are laid to rest in unknown graves.

Written by Frank’s brother, Don Davidson