Murton Lawrence McClay

1920 - 1943  (22 years)

• Name	Murton Lawrence McClay
  Born	21 Sep 1920	Belmont, Manitoba, Canada
  Gender	Male
  Died	31 Aug 1943	Saerbeck, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland
  	World War II - Heavy Royal Air Force raid on Berlin Killed in Action
  Buried	Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Kreis Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
  Person ID	I5816	Family Tree
  Last Modified	11 Dec 2023

  
  

  Father	Thomas McClay,   b. 1881, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1968, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada  (Age 87 years)
  Mother	Isabell May Hall,   b. 14 Feb 1891, Russell, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 4 Feb 1981, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada  (Age 89 years)
  Married	12 Mar 1913	Rural Municipality of Prairie Lakes, Manitoba, Canada
  	Rural Municipality of Strathcona, Manitoba
  Family ID	F16864	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 21 Sep 1920 - Belmont, Manitoba, Canada Died - 31 Aug 1943 - Saerbeck, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland Buried - - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Kreis Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos		Murton McClay
  		Wreckage of JN909

  
  

  Headstones

  Murton McClay R.147010 Flight Sergeant M.L. McClay Air Bomber Royal Canadian Air Force 31st August 1943

  
  

  Census		1921 Canada Census Rural Municipality of Strathcona, Manitoba
  		1931 Canada Census Rural Municipality of Strathcona, Manitoba

  
  

• Notes

  #102 Ceylon Squadron (Tentate Et Pericite). Halifax aircraft # JN 909 was shot down at Saerbeck, Germany during operations against Berlin, Germany. Four crew members were killed, two were taken Prisoner of War and one was safe in neutral territory. Flight Sergeant Air Gunner McClay was buried in the Catholic cemetery at Saerbeck, exhumed and reburied in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. The raid of 622 aircraft (331 Lancasters, 176 Halifaxes, 106 Stirlings and 9 Mosquitoes) took off from RAF Base Pocklington, Yorkshire at 20:21 hrs on August 31, 1943. Due to cloud in the target area, difficulties with H2S equipment and the ferocity of the German defences, the raid was not successful. These all combined, caused the Pathfinder markers to be dropped well south of the centre of the target area and the main bombing area to be even further away. Halifax JN909 is believed to be shot down by Flak (a German aircraft-defence cannon), crashing between the communities of Sinningen and Saerbeck.