James Quinn was born in Sarnia General Hospital on December 6, 1921, the son of William Edward Quinn (born in Courtright, Ontario) and Marjorie Jean (nee Raeburn, born in Port Franks, Ontario) Quinn, of 364 Shepherd Street, Sarnia. James was part of a family of 10 children. His siblings included Dorothy Isabella (born 1913); Marjorie Jean (born 1916); David Gerald (born 1924); Maurice Allen (born 1929); and Mary Louise (born 1931), as well as three other sisters and one brother. James was a former student of a local public school and Sarnia Collegiate. He was at one time a carrier boy for the Canadian (Sarnia) Observer and had been employed at the Imperial Theatre for a year prior to his enlistment.

James Quinn was nineteen years old and single when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in January of 1941. By the end of that month, he left Sarnia for the training base at Brandon, Manitoba. He continued his training in Calgary and received his badge in Paulson, Manitoba. In late November of 1941, he would spend a 10-day furlough with his parents and friends in Sarnia before celebrating his 20th birthday at an Eastern Canada base. James Quinn would become a member of #106 Squadron “Pro Libertate” (For freedom), with the rank of Warrant Officer Class II, Air Gunner.

James was stationed at Syerston, England. He was trained as a tail gunner in a Lancaster Bomber and flew 17 bombing missions. On January 13, 1943, his 17th mission, Warrant Officer II-Air Gunner James Quinn’s Lancaster aircraft W4261 was shot down over Dusseldorf, Germany on a bombing raid on Essen, Germany. Perishing with James Quinn were Warrant Officer’s M.A. Phair, R.C. Zavitz, and J. Aleo; and Pilot Officer D.H. Dewar. Two of the crew, not Canadians, were reported missing and presumed killed.

Not long after the crash, parents William and Marjorie Quinn in Sarnia would receive a telegram from the R.C.A.F. casualty officer informing them that their son, WO James Edward Quinn was reported missing after air operations. He had been reported missing a few days after British and Canadian air forces staged a devastating raid on Essen, Germany. Several days later, William and Marjorie would receive another telegram from the casualties officer of the R.C.A.F. in Ottawa with a message that the International Red Cross Society received information from German sources indicating that Flight Sergeant Quinn had been killed in the Essen raid. German information had stated that Flt. Sgt. Quinn was shot down over Essen, January 13 and was buried at Military Burial Field in North Dusseldorf, Germany, on January 18. The R.C.A.F. casualty officer said that further information would follow in a letter. After a time when no further information was received, William and Marjorie Quinn continued to live in hope that their son James was still alive, that he may have escaped and was confined as a prisoner of war in Germany. Later, William and Marjorie Quinn would receive a telegram informing them that their son James was, Previously reported missing after air operations, now for official purposes, presumed dead, overseas.

In a collection of letters written by James Quinn to his father, before the young airman was reported killed, James indicated that he took part in almost 30 raids over enemy territory and was slated for furlough to Canada soon. In letters home he described raids over Italy and Germany, including the 1,000-plane raid which blasted the historic city of Cologne.

Twenty-one year old James Quinn was buried in the Military Cemetery at Dusseldorf, and then exhumed and reburied in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Germany, Grave 8.G.13. In mid-November of 1944, parents William and Marjorie Quinn in Sarnia would receive word that their son James Edward was promoted from flight sergeant to warrant officer in the autumn of 1942. In March 1946, James Quinn was awarded posthumously the decoration, “Mention in Dispatches”. It was reported that, The King has been graciously pleased to approve the award of Mentions in Dispatches, in recognition of gallant and distinguished services. Quinn Drive in Sarnia was named in his memory.

SOURCES: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J, L, M, N, 2C, 2D, e