Charles Melville Shannon

Police Constable, York Township Police | Flight Sergeant, No. 419 (Moose) Squadron, RCAF

               Charles Melville Shannon was born on September 25th, 1917 to farmers John and Mary Shannon of Walton, Ontario. “Mel” Shannon attended Seaforth Collegiate high school in the nearby town of Seaforth and was a keen athlete. Shannon moved to Thorn Hill, employed as a laboratory assistant and served in the Irish Regiment of Canada part-time as a member of the Canadian Militia. In April 1939, Shannon was appointed as a Police Constable with the York Township Police department. Located on Oakwood Avenue, this police department was responsible for Toronto’s pre-amalgamation borough of York. Shannon was single and lived at 12 Alameda Avenue.

               On October 25th, 1940, PC Shannon enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force at the No. 2 Manning Depot in Toronto, applying to be air crew. On April 21st, 1941, Shannon married his sweetheart Yvonne. Selected for pilot training, Shannon rose to the rank of Flight Sergeant. Shortly after the birth of his son, Shannon was posted to Bomber Command in England.

After some time with No. 20 Operational Training Unit, Shannon was posted to No. 419 (Moose) Squadron, RCAF, at RAF Mildenhall, England in December 1941. Shannon then captained a Wellington Bomber, identification number X3703, which he flew on 12 harrowing missions over Nazi-occupied Europe in the early months of 1942.

On the night of May 8th, 1942, Shannon led his crew on their 13th mission, this time to the industrial coastal city of Warnemünde, Germany, which produced Heinkel war planes and other war materiel. On the early morning of May 9th, 1942, X3703 failed to return from the attack and Shannon and his crew were listed as missing. As time passed Shannon was presumed dead due to enemy action. His body, which had been buried locally, was later discovered by Allied ground forces. Police Constable Charles Melville Shannon now lies at the Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetery, where his remains were re-interred by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Research Sources:

  • Library and Archives Canada. Service File of No. R80520 Charles Melville Shannon
  • Library and Archives Canada. Operations Record Book of No. 419 Squadron, RCAF.
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Casualty Details for No. R80520 Charles Melville Shannon.
  • The Toronto Daily Star (1941, July 15th), Page 4 . “Ontario Airmen Graduate from Brantford Flying School”.
  • The Toronto Daily Star (1942, May 14th), Page 11 . “Report 21 Missing in RCAF Overseas”.
  • The Toronto Daily Star (1943, January 6th), Page 11 . “Sergt CM Shannon Now Presumed Dead”.
  • Aviation Safety Network – ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 203443.
  • Correspondence with R. Cook, family, April 2021.