White, Pilot Officer Charles Stewart

Service highlights

  • Service number: J5330
  • Born 11 May 1915 in Granton, Ontario
  • Moved to St. Marys as a boy with his parents, Charles W. and Mary (Stewart) White
  • Managed the St. Marys Golf Club when war broke out in 1939
  • Joined the militia in 1929 at age 14 and served with local units including the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps, and The Perth Regiment
  • Mobilized 5 September 1939, promoted Warrant Officer Class II (Company Sergeant Major) 10 November 1939
  • Discharged at Stratford 21 September 1940 in order to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force
  • Enrolled at London 23 September 1940, trained as a pilot in Canada, sent overseas 29 May 1941
  • Completed operational training on Wellington bombers in Britain and posted to No. 115 Squadron RAF
  • Missing after his first operational mission to Emden, Germany, night of 25 to 26 September 1941
  • Commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial and on the World War II plaque at St. Marys Town Hall

A Life and Service Remembered

Charles Stewart White was born in Granton, Ontario, and moved to St. Marys as a young boy with his parents, Charles and Mary (Stewart) White. He grew up here, went to school here, and built a life that was rooted in community. When war broke out in 1939, he was managing the St. Marys Golf Club, a role that says a lot about the kind of person he was: responsible, trusted, and known to the people around him.

He also had a long standing commitment to military service. He joined the militia as a teenager in 1929, only fourteen years old, and served with local St. Marys companies connected to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps and the Perth Regiment. When Canada entered the war, he was mobilized with the Perth Regiment on 5 September 1939. Within weeks he advanced quickly, promoted to Warrant Officer Class II, Company Sergeant Major, on 10 November 1939. Then, in a decision that must have taken both conviction and sacrifice, he left that track behind. He was discharged in Stratford on 21 September 1940 so he could enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

He enrolled in London on 23 September 1940 and moved through the training system across Canada: basic training in Brandon, ground school in Regina, elementary flying training at Goderich, and service flying training at Camp Borden. In mid May 1941 he was promoted sergeant, then commissioned as a pilot officer the following day. Less than two weeks later, on 29 May 1941, he was sent overseas.

In Britain he was sent straight into the next phase, advanced training with an operational training unit on Wellington bombers. After that, he and his crew were posted to 115 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was a major moment, the point where training became real operations.

On 25 September 1941, Pilot Officer White and his crew were sent on their first bombing mission, a raid on the port of Emden in north west Germany. In the early hours of 26 September, radio operators in England picked up a faint wireless transmission from his aircraft reporting that one engine was on fire. The signal was thought to have originated near the Dutch island of Terschelling. No further messages came through. There was no trace of the aircraft, though the body of one crew member was later reported to have washed ashore in East Friesland, Germany.

For families, the word missing is its own kind of loss. Stewart White is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, a place that carries thousands of names of airmen with no known grave. In St. Marys, his parents had his name inscribed on their gravestone in Section M of the St. Marys Cemetery with the words “Missing Over Enemy Territory, Sept. 26, 1941.” He is also remembered on the World War II plaque on the south wall of the St. Marys Town Hall, a permanent reminder that his first operation was also his last, and that his hometown never forgot him.

Major battles and operations

  • 1929, joined the militia at age 14
  • 5 September 1939, mobilized with the Perth Regiment
  • 10 November 1939, promoted Warrant Officer Class II, Company Sergeant Major
  • 21 September 1940, discharged to enlist in the RCAF
  • 23 September 1940, enrolled in the RCAF at London, Ontario
  • Training postings: No. 2 Manning Depot (Brandon), No. 2 Initial Training School (Regina), No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School (Goderich), No. 1 Service Flying Training School (Camp Borden)
  • 29 May 1941, sent overseas
  • Posted in Britain for Wellington training, then to 115 Squadron RAF
  • 25 to 26 September 1941, first bombing mission to Emden, aircraft reported engine fire, then missing

Crew Unit 115, Wellington serial: R1332

  • Pilot – Sergeant Farnan, Marven Ernest (RAF)
  • Pilot -Pilot Officer White, Charles Stewart (RCAF)
  • Wireless Air Gunner -Flight Sergeant Alexander Harkness RCAF
  • Wireless Air Gunner -Sergeant John Stephen Lappin RCAF

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