Sergeant (Observer) James Gordon CAMERON (995198)
235 Squadron Royal Air Force

Date of birth: Unknown
Date of death: 9th February 1942

Killed on active service aged 1941
Buried at Knockando Parish Churchyard Grave 490
James Gordon Cameron was born at Inverness the son of James Gordon Cameron and Ina (nee Campbell) Cameron of Carron.

He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and trained as a Navigator before being posted to 235 Squadron based at Dyce Airfield, Aberdeen who were operating Beaufighter Mark IC aircraft.

On the 9th of February 1942 James Cameron and his crew took off from RAF Sumburgh in Beaufighter T4751LA-G for a local wireless training flight. The weather was poor with fog and low cloud throughout the day and with sleet arriving towards the evening. The pilot was inexperienced on the type of aircraft and was instructed to remain over the airfield. In the event he did not and as the flight progressed the weather deteriorated, the pilot made the decision to return to base too late. When the aircraft did return it circled the airfield several times while air traffic control tried unsuccessfully to establish radio contact in order to divert the aircraft to another airfield further south but no communication could be established, although the wireless was checked and working before takeoff. At 3.30pm the aircraft went into a spin and crashed while trying to avoid a hill in a snowstorm. It caught fire on impact, killing the entire crew.

The crew was: -

Sergeant Richard Charles Denley RAAF (Pilot)
Sergeant James Gordon Cameron (Observer)
Sergeant James Rennie Lord (Observer)
Carron

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