Leading Aircraftman James Cameron Campbell


On Shalloch on Minnocha Corbett, at the north end of the ‘Awful Hand’ range in the Southern Uplands, part of Galloway Forest Park, Leading Aircraftman James Cameron Campbell was a member of an Avro Anson crew that was lost on 2 July 1942. 

Campbell, 1346334, RAFVR was the husband of Catherine Mason Campbell of 32 Viewlands Terrace, Perth. James was the eldest son of Mr and Mrs Campbell, Thistlebank, 185 Glasgow Road, Perth.  

James Campbell had been in service with the RAF for about a year, formerly working for Alex Thomson & Sons, grocers and wine merchants of 255 High Street, Perth. James and Catherine had two sons and is buried in Wellshill Cemetery, Perth. 

The crew of Avro Anson Mk.I of No 2 (O) AFU from RAF Millom in Cumbria were on a cross country navigation training flight with a crew of five, a staff pilot and a wireless operator along with three trainees. The aircraft was spotted by the ground Observer Corps flying north west of Dumfries at 3,000 ft. It is thought that they flew into the hill which was obscured by cloud. Two days later, a shepherd discovered the wrecked aircraft on the eastern summit. The crew bodies were removed the following day. 

Flight Sergeant William Thomas Gale, R/84247, RCAF, pilot, age 22 

Leading Aircraftman James Cameron Campbell, 1346334, RAFVR, observer (u/t), age 30 

LeadinAircraftman Joseph Arthur Wild, 1576055, RAFVR, observer (u/t), age 31 

Sergeant John Benson Hall, 1354005, RAFVR, wireless operator/air gunner, age 22 

Aircraftman 2nd Class, Ernest Everall, 1126654, RAFVR, wireless operator/air gunner (u/t), age 21 

Catherine Mason, his wife died 4 January 2012, age 97 years.


James Cameron Campbell, Perthshire Advertiser 8 July 1942

BRITISH AIRCRAFT IN ROYAL AIR FORCE SERVICE, 1939-1945: AVRO 625A ANSON. (C 2117) Two Anson Mark Is, K6285 and N9742, of No. 321 (Dutch) Squadron RAF based at Carew Cheriton, Pembrokeshire, in flight north-west of Tenby. K6285 still bears the unit code letters (‘MW’) of No. 217 Squadron RAF, to which it formerly belonged. (Port threequarter front view). Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205022880

POST WAR BRITISH AIRCRAFT (ATP 16215C) Avro Anson T 20 Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205126176

POST WAR BRITISH AIRCRAFT (ATP 16645C) Avro Anson T 21 Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205126179

ROYAL AIR FORCE: 1939-1945: COASTAL COMMAND (MH 33968) An Anson of No 502 Squadron undergoing a major inspection at Aldergrove, near Belfast, April 1940. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205190574

THE AIR TRANSPORT AUXILIARY IN BRITAIN, 1942 (TR 34) A woman pilot of the Air Transport Auxiliary in the cockpit of an Avro Anson (N5060), which was used to collect and deliver pilots. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205188212

AVRO ‘ANSON’ (CH 624) Original wartime caption: The Avro ‘Anson’ is a general reconnaissance and advanced training machine of unusually roomy construction and good visibility. A low-wing cantilever monoplane, powered by two Armstrong-Siddeley ‘CHEETAH IX’ engines each developing 310 h.p. The navigator of an Anson bomber checks his course. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205442323