Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Griffintown Plane Crash April 25th 1944

Here is an article from the Gazette regarding the 4 engine Royal Air Force Liberator that had left Dorval and was heading for England and crashed in Griffintown on April 25th 1944. There must be photos around and maybe Les can come up with some of them. The subject came up a while back and was stored in my memory.
Guy
 

17 comments:

les__f MSN said...

Guy I have some pictures of this crash,.which was a Liberator Bomber,...also one of the women killed was a friend of my Mom's ,.....my Mom met my oldman at a party at this womens house,....  I will try to dig up those old photo's ,.Incidentally ,few know that the women was also pregnant at the time,...at least I recall my Mom telling me something like that,.I will confirm........................                                                                  hf&rv

les__f MSN said...

Guy,.so as not to mislead you,.I have some photographs from the Gazette,.and photos from the time,.not pics ,from family albums etc etc .... another odd coincidence in the name mentioned in the article you posted ,is the Jim Kelly name ,.oddly enoguh a Jim ( Woppy) Kelly ,who was a friend of our family for years ,also lived close to that arae,....not sure what time frame,.but I added his name to our 'In Memoriam' link a couple of years ago,........Odd that I never heard of another Jim Kelly,from around there,...or heard my oldman or Woppy himself mention it,........Oh well can't know everyone I guess.............hahahahah                                               hf&rv

biking2006 MSN said...

This terrible crash was mentioned in the V.C. Links under 'Griffin Town' I think.

les__f MSN said...

We've also spoken of it here a few years ago,.and I may have posted articles on it,.but it is mentioned in the GriffinTown link perhaps through the links section here,.but I haven't looked yet,.......... I will look through it. Thanks for the prompt:                                                   hf&rv

les__f MSN said...

..Here's the excerpt from the Ghosts of GriffinTown link: 1944   On April 26th an RAF Liberator Bomber plane crashed at Shannon and Ottawa Streets. 15 fatalities were noted   .........this is the only referance to the plane crash ,on the Ghosts of Griffintown...................................   they got the date wrong ,I think I read April 25th,..................                                                                                                                 hf&rv

maggiemck MSN said...

Les, the article that started this section was written in 1991. Could very well be the same Jim Kelly that was a friend of your family.

les__f MSN said...

Hi MaggieMck ( a little chilly there I hear),...........No it wouldn't be the Kelly I know,because he always lived in Montreal,.after moving from Griffintown,he buikt a house or bought a new house in StRose,.....( Laval) and he died there a few years ago,.his obit is in the'In Memoriam' section here on the Verdun Connections,....... I did notice that April 1991 date in the Gazette article ,and thought at first it may have been Our Family friend until I saw the Toronto part............  Good thought though ,.                             HF&RV

jmhachey MSN said...

Griffintown remembered ... [...] That 25-ton bomber, on a classified mission to Europe on that drizzly spring morning of April 25, 1944, would develop engine trouble as it approached Mount Royal. My uncle, Frank Doyle, then an 11-year-old student in St. Ann's Boys' School, a block from Furlong's flat, remembers how the plane swooped over the school as the pilot made a desperate attempt to reach the river. "We were just coming in after recess," he says. "We heard this big noise, zoom, it shook the place. Brother Edward, our teacher, said, 'Stay here and pray.' " God saved the schoolchildren. The plane missed the school and crashed into the block where Furlong lived. Nine of his neighbours, a beat constable, and the plane's five crew members died. [...] Maclean's March 17, 2003 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0012452 JM

les__f MSN said...

hi JMH ,.I also had read somewhere that a Policeman (or maybe it was a fireman) had to walk through the rubble to look for bodies,.and one of them fell through the floor ,up to his chect,before he could scramble back up,& get out,.perhaps it was part of this story,too. I have read that link before ,but don't Remember the whole story,.otherthan the name at the beginning Happy Furlong,......I had a teacher in Lasalle at one time whose name was Furlong,I wonder if they were related? It really was an incredible thing ,to have not killed more people than it did,..because as the story says the Pilot tried desparately to avoid the buildings,.and head for the river,  imagine a couple of hours earlier & all the kids would have still been home as well as their fathers too............  Thanks for posting the link:                                        HF&RV

kencm3 MSN said...

I hope you find those pictures, Les, as I would like to put that story on my blog. As you all know, Griffintown is in the news a lot these days over the mega development the city wants to do there. My concern is that the Irish and their history in Montreal are getting gradually reduced to being a a couple of plaques in obscure places. It's a good time to stand up for our heritage in Montreal!

les__f MSN said...

No Problem Ken,..I did find a few on an external hard drive,. but these are news paper photos, & a brief story,.......I will keep looking ,But to be Honest these are great pics,with smoking rubble..........but only of newsprint quality: I will also talk to my Mum again,.and ask her the name of her friend who was killed ,as well,......  She's 87 & has a better memory than I do..............hahahahahah How's this she's enrolled in classes at UVIC for 3 months ,some special program to interest older people to share their knowledge,and participate in classes,.............hahahaha she's got us beat all ready.......                 Here's some pics to start with ..Save 'em, cause they are hard to find........                  Sorry Ken I can only find these right now ,but when & if I find those others I will post them ,or email them directly:  You may want to speak with Denis Delaney ( you can contact him through the George McCrae ,Point St Charles site,......& You will get all the info you like regarding the Irish Existence in Montreal,.....         Good luck & let me know ,where I can read your blog:....Oddly enough only a few hours ago I was going through the 'Walking Turcot Yards ' site.......ESP my friend ESP.............................................             HF&RV

kencm3 MSN said...

Thanks, Les!

Funny you mention Walking Turcot Yards because that IS my blog, lol! Actually there was article in the Montreal Mirror last week that included an interview I did with Christpher DeWolf. Most of it is about the people who live in the west end of Saint Henri, The Glen, or Village des Tanneries, as it has been invariably called by the locals, and their issue with housing being demolished to make room for the new version of the Turcot Interchange.

kencm3 MSN said...

Oh, and do say hello to your mom for me, Les! It's probably a little over 40 years since I ve seen her, but she may remember me. Women do outlive the guys it seems. My mom is going to be 81 in May and she shows no signs of slowing down. My dad passed away in 2003 at 77.

guy5479 MSN said...

There is a full page article in the La Presse this morning regarding the planned Mega Development of  Griffintown. The photo of the intersection of Smith and Shannon specifies that the intersection will no longer exhist. Shannon will be closed south of Ottawa and Smith street will be demolished and rebuilt further south. Guy   Some old buildings will demolished and others will be transformed such as the New City Gas Co. building.  

les__f MSN said...

Interesting Guy I will look up the srticle on line,.Thanks for the lead........                                                                           hf&rv

bigfellow6633 MSN said...

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