 |
James Howard Ireland
|
Born at MacGregor on 3 February 1924, one of four children of William Howard Ireland and Jessie Alberta Orchard, he graduated grade 11 at the MacGregor High School in 1941 and completed some correspondence courses in Electrical Engineering. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force straight out of school, on 7 April 1942.
He qualified as an Air Gunner and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on 14 September 1943. He proceeded overseas on 26 January 1943, and was assigned to 614 Squadron on 24 March 1944. He was promoted to the rank of Flight Sergeant on 17 June 1944, assigned to 142 Squadron on 7 July 1944 and, finally, to 148 (Special Duties) Squadron at Brindisi, Italy, on 15 August 1944.
On 11 September 1944, Halifax aircraft BB412 was engaged in a secret operation to northern Italy when it crashed into the top of Colle Pian dei Muli, twenty-nine miles north of Turin, Italy, and burned. The eight-man crew, including Ireland, three members of No. 1 Special Force, one British and two Czech, and two unidentified passengers were killed and buried beside the wreckage by members of the Don Minzoni partisan detachment out of Ivrea. Weapons, ammunition, and money were salvaged from the crash site. On 28 August 2014, a cairn was installed near the crash site to honour the crew of Halifax BB412.
He was buried in the Milan War Cemetery. In 1975, the Province of Manitoba named Ireland Lake in his honour.
This page was prepared by Robert Nash.
Page revised: 24 May 2024
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
