Letter to Reg MacArthur's Father
![SKnoxRW[Ser#-DoB]v50008.jpg](https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1956/41418/SKnoxRW[Ser -DoB]v50008.jpg "SKnoxRW[Ser#-DoB]v50008.jpg")
Title
Letter to Reg MacArthur's Father
Description
The letter advises that his son is missing.
Creator
Date
1944-07-22
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
One typewritten sheet
Conforms To
Is Part Of
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
SKnoxRW[Ser#-DoB]v50008
Transcription
COPY FOR H.Q. OTTAWA
R174841 F/S MACARTHUR. G.R.
No. 582 Squadron,
Royal Air Force,
ENGLAND.
22nd July 1944.
Dear Mr. McArthur,
I deeply regret to inform you that your son, Flight Sergeant G.R. MacArthur (CAN/R.174841), failed to return from operations carried out over enemy territory on the 20th July 1944.
Your son was the Mid-Upper Gunner of a very experienced and outstanding crew, a crew of great ability and courage. Though, being a newcomer, I personally knew them only very slightly, my predecessor, Wing Commander Dunnicliffe, spoke very highly of them, and it is clear from the circumstances of this particular operation that the crew was making a highly creditable bid for success at the time.
Your son’s personal effects are being carefully collected and will be sent to the Central Depository at Colnbrook, whence they will be sent on to you in due course.
You may rest assured that I will notify you immediately any news of your son comes to my knowledge. Meanwhile, please accept the profound sympathy of my Squadron and myself with you and yours, and the hope that better news may soon be available.
Yours sincerely
[signature]
P.H. CRIBB.
Wing Commander, Commanding,
[underlined] No. 582 Squadron, R.A.F. [/underlined]
Mr G.A. Macarthur,
19 Melrose Street,
Amherst, Nova Scotia,
[underlined] CANADA. [/underlined]
2 Copies to A.M. (P.4 Cas Can)
73/77 Oxford Street, London, W.1.
[date stamp 25 JUL 1944 P.M.]
Letter dated 22 July 1944 from Wing Commander PH Cribb of 582 Squadron to Reg MacArthur’s father
R174841 F/S MACARTHUR. G.R.
No. 582 Squadron,
Royal Air Force,
ENGLAND.
22nd July 1944.
Dear Mr. McArthur,
I deeply regret to inform you that your son, Flight Sergeant G.R. MacArthur (CAN/R.174841), failed to return from operations carried out over enemy territory on the 20th July 1944.
Your son was the Mid-Upper Gunner of a very experienced and outstanding crew, a crew of great ability and courage. Though, being a newcomer, I personally knew them only very slightly, my predecessor, Wing Commander Dunnicliffe, spoke very highly of them, and it is clear from the circumstances of this particular operation that the crew was making a highly creditable bid for success at the time.
Your son’s personal effects are being carefully collected and will be sent to the Central Depository at Colnbrook, whence they will be sent on to you in due course.
You may rest assured that I will notify you immediately any news of your son comes to my knowledge. Meanwhile, please accept the profound sympathy of my Squadron and myself with you and yours, and the hope that better news may soon be available.
Yours sincerely
[signature]
P.H. CRIBB.
Wing Commander, Commanding,
[underlined] No. 582 Squadron, R.A.F. [/underlined]
Mr G.A. Macarthur,
19 Melrose Street,
Amherst, Nova Scotia,
[underlined] CANADA. [/underlined]
2 Copies to A.M. (P.4 Cas Can)
73/77 Oxford Street, London, W.1.
[date stamp 25 JUL 1944 P.M.]
Letter dated 22 July 1944 from Wing Commander PH Cribb of 582 Squadron to Reg MacArthur’s father
Collection
Citation
Commanding Officer 582 Squadron, “Letter to Reg MacArthur's Father,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 20, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/41418.
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