James McCartney

This story and photos are shared with the Trust with kind permission from Neil McCartney Robson, nephew of James McCartney

P/O James (Jim) McCartney was born on the 26th January 1923, the only son of Thomas and Margaret McCartney of Shotts, Lanarkshire. He had left school and was a trainee plasterer when he volunteered.

He applied to join the RAF just after his eighteenth birthday, passed all the tests and was enlisted on the 11th March 1941. His training commenced in July 1941 and following flight training in Canada, was awarded his Wings on 4th July 1942. He joined 193 Squadron RAF as a founder member in January 1943. The squadron became operational in April 1943, flying the Hawker Typhoon Mk 1B. The squadron specialised in ground attack and dive bombing in support of ground troops.

Photo believed to have been taken at RAF Harrowbeer, Devon in early 1943

He completed his first tour in April 1944, but returned to the squadron in June 1944. He flew at least 78 operations with the squadron. The squadron moved to France in early July 1944, initially to the temporary airfield ALG 15 at Ryes, Normandy, then from 15th July to ALG 3 at St Croix-sur-Mer.

On an evening fighter patrol of eight Typhoons on Thursday 10th August, east of Falaise, his aircraft was hit by flak and immediately began to lose height. Despite his attempt to get back to the British lines, he had to abandon his aircraft at low level close to the village of Espins and Croisilles. His parachute failed to open. His body was recovered after the village was liberated in autumn 1944.

PO McCartney's grave in Bretteville-sur-Laize Cemetery

I have researched my Uncle's life and written a book for the family about his war experience. This included some testimony obtained by a French friend who many years earlier had interviewed some elderly inhabitants of Espins. His body was apparently discovered by local hunters in late August, a few days after the village was liberated and the villagers were able to return. Fields in this area are divided by thick wooded verges often ten to fifteen metres wide. There are several possible body discovery locations within 500 - 600 metres of the aircraft's known crash site. They found his parachute had not deployed. There is a little mystery here as notes taken in the interviews by my friend are in his own 'shorthand' so there is a possibility that he noted 'Automne' and not 'Aout'.

The find was reported and personnel from 131st Forestry Company, Royal Engineers collected the body and completed a temporary burial with full military honours. Their regimental diary, however, does not mention this event as I am sure it was one of many such activities at the time. Records obtained from the MOD Air Historical Branch identify the location as 978486, compared to the CWGC recovery location as 981487 (a field on the south side of the Route de Barbery) and state that this information was received on 4th October 1944, hence the possibility of an autumn discovery. Certainly the same spot in reality, is a mere 300 metres difference. To add further to the mystery, in these notes a villager described the body as 'unburied', reinforcing the autumn possibility.

I established some wonderful connections in Normandy as a result of my research and, as a result, in the village closest to where his aircraft came down, Croisilles, the Mayor, Council and inhabitants of Croisilles honoured P/O James McCartney with a memorial plaque at the entrance to the village in a wonderful ceremony in June 2019 as part of the D-Day 75th Anniversary commemorations which was attended by over 150 people. At the Vin D'Honneur held in Croisilles after the plaque unveiling ceremony, I was approached by a sprightly older gentleman, Monsieur Marcel Farcy, who told me, as a seventeen year old farm hand, he had seen the crashed Typhoon.

This year in June 2024, they named the area where his plaque is situated as 'Place J McCartney'. Members of the family were able to attend.

Normandy Memorial Trust- Additional Information

PO James McCartney was reinterred in Bretteville-sur-Laize Cemetery on the 6th April 1945.