James Duncan "Smudger" Smith

RCAF   RAF   P/O   -   MiD

 

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Son of William and Alexandrina Smith, of Winnipeg, Manitoba
Home in Winnipeg.
Appointed Acting Pilot Officer on Probation, RAF, 28 January 1937;
served in No.73 Squadron (Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, North Africa).

Killed in action 14 April 1941, aged 27;

buried in Knightsbridge War Cemetery, Libya.

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SMITH, F/L James Duncan "smudger" (40325) - Mention in Despatches
Awarded as per London Gazette dated 1 January 1942.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission record states, "Son of William and Alexandrina Smith of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada." DHist cards list a James Duncan Smith as being with the RCAF, 8 November 1934 to 16 January 1936 and gives a file reference 4095-A; this man had been born 17 March 1914 which would have made him 27 in 1941. It is not known if the two men are the same; but the probability is that they are.

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Credited with the following victories:

11 September 1940,   one Bf.110 destroyed and
                                  one damaged;
15 September 1940,   one Bf.109 destroyed in flames;
16 December 1940,    one SM.79 destroyed near Bardia plus
                                   one CR.42 probably destroyed;
18 December 1940,    one SM.79 destroyed.

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SMITH. JAMES DUNCAN P/O (P) 40325 M.i.D. - Royal Air Force. From Winnipeg, Manitoba. Killed April14, 1941 age 27. P/O. Smith flew Hurricane aircraft in the Battle of Britain with 274 Squadron and was an ace having destroyed seven and one half enemy aircraft. Pilot Officer Pilot Smith is buried in the Knightsbridge Cemetery, Acroma, Libya.
(from : "They Shall Not Grow Old")

--- Canadian Aces ---

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On these pages I use info from the Air force Association of Canada's web site
in Hugh Halliday's excellent Honors & Awards section,
Newspaper articles via the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC)
as well as other sources both published and private