Pilot Officer J.A. Neilson (142 Squadron)

Hi all,

I am looking for more information on Pilot Officer J.A. Neilson. I believe I have several photos with him on them. What I do know is the following:

Trade: Pilot
Trained at No.12 OTU
Posted to 142 Squadron on 27 September 1940. He flew Fairey Battles and later Wellingtons whilst at 142 Squadron. He left the unit on 20 July 1941.
He was then posted to No.23 OTU for screened instructor duties.

I did find a Canadian pilot named James Andrew Neilson. He was killed on 31 March 1945 whilst flying with 415 Squadron. There is a photo of him on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial website. He does look like the man on the photo's, but I am not sure and would like to find confirmation on the identity of P/O J.A. Neilson.

 

Hi Pieter,

Not the same fellow.

James Andrew Neilson (NCO number R282635) enlisted in the RCAF at Toronto 7 October 1943. Trained as a flight engineer.

Regards,

Dave

 

Hi Pieter - where does your info come from? I'm guessing the SQN ORBs, which in this case contain his surname and initials but not his service number.

Normally the service number is at least contained in the ORB when it records a member arriving / leaving a SQN

 

No J A Neilson listed in Air Force List for the 1940/1941/1942 period so unlikely to be RAF if commissioned during this time.

I would have a closer look at NZ391364 Jonathan Arthur Neilson DFC RNZAF.

Pilot, right name, commissioned right period, second tour No.626 Sqn early 1944 as Act S/Ldr - flight commander for new flight formation.

Ross

 

Thanks for your replies Dave, DaveB and Ross. Good to know that the man on the CVMW-website photo is not the man I am looking for. The information comes from the 142 Squadron ORB. It does not mention his service number. His service number might be in the 23OTU ORB. This ORB mentions all incoming and outgoing postings with initials, surname and service number. I have copies of this ORB, but only for the period August 1941 - February 1942. And Neilson was posted to the unit in July 1941.

I don't know if he has been commissioned, Ross. He joined 142 Squadron as a Pilot Officer and held the same rank when he left in July 1941.

 

I'm struggling with this one - I have checked the London Gazette for the war years and can't find any evidence of someone with a name to match those initials. Not being commissioned, promoted or receiving a decoration.

I checked the RAF OR service number cards and there isn't a suitable combination there either. The only matches for JA were post-war enlistments.

I presume that J.A. Neilson appears on multiple pages of the 142SQN ORB - thanks for confirming that as your source, it is one less resource that someone needs to check for you.

Can you scan & attach to this thread a couple of the pages showing his name & initials to see if there is something else on the pages that might provide a clue.


At the moment he doesn't appear to exist - the only firm match is the NZ officer suggested by Ross.

 

Here are some cut outs from the ORB showing his name and - only once - showing his initials. The first one is the page mentioning his posting to 142 Squadron. The 2nd is about his landing at RAF Coleby Grange after a cross country flight at night. The third cut out mentions his promotion to Captain of his own crew and the last one is his posting to 23 OTU.

 

OK then - that is frustrating - especially when it provides the service number on posting out for one officer and a SNCO but not his.

I thought of another approach and as "McGregor-Macdonald" arrived on posting and left at the same time then they might have the same seniority - if I can find him in the LG then maybe Neilson can't be far away....

Cue more frustrating searching of the Gazette with no joy so far. In desperation I turned to Google for "McGregor-Macdonald" & RAF and got this snippet:

http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?104317-Fairey-Battle-crash-info-Id-required

Still can't find a service number for that officer either.


So is his surname McGregor-Macdonald or is McGregor Macdonald some sort of upper class way of using your middle name?



There is also this, further supporting Ross's suggestion of your guy being NZ391364 Jonathan Arthur Neilson DFC RNZAF

http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C138720



& check out the service number for Duncan McGregor-Macdonald - it is two off the number for Jonathan Arthur Neilson

May 12, 2016 - McGREGOR-MACDONALD, Duncan Lyness. Service No 391362. Flt Lieutenant RNZAF 1939-45. Passed away peacefully on Tuesday 10 May ...

 

I have done a further search in the No.23 OTU ORB (I have the ORB for August 1941 till June 1942). McGregor-MacDonald is mentioned as posted in on 16 August 1941 (see attachment). But no service number is mentioned..

I have also checked all the outgoing postings of instructors. No mention of Neilson or McGregor-MacDonald. One of the other airmen posted from 142 Squadron to 23 OTU (see ORB in post #7), F/O W.B. Bilton, left the unit on 14 May 1942.

 

Hope this helps?
Jonathan Arthur Neilson NZ/391364

 

Kelvin,

The opening post author Pieter F has not logged on since November 2021, so unless he has flagged this thread, he may not known you have added a post. Best to send him a Private Message.