ULENS, Rayburn William Thomas

  • 19 years
  • Canadian
  • Flight Sergeant
  • R/191540
  • Mitchell, FL192
  • 19th June 1944
  • Near Guernsey
  • Allied Aircrew Memorial, Guernsey

Flight Sergeant Ulens was originally from London, Ontario where he worked as a truck driver before enlisting in the RCAF on 7 September 1942 as an air gunner.

He did his basic military training at No. 1 Manning Depot in Toronto before being sent to No. 1 Technical Training School at St. Thomas, Ontario in part because the training system was backlogged. On 20 March 1943 he began the classroom part of his air gunner training at No. 2 Air Gunners Ground Training School at Trenton, Ontario. The practical part was started on 30 May when he was posted to No. 3 Bombing and Gunnery School in MacDonald, Manitoba which was followed by additional training at No. 34 Operational Training Unit at Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick as a newly appointed sergeant.

On 2 October 1943, Sergeant Ulens was posted overseas arriving in the UK on 8 October. He was transferred to RAF Bournemouth on the 14th where he awaited the availability of a training billet. This occurred the following year when he was posted to No. 13 Operational Training Unit on 28 March 1944.  Here he would selected and be selected for a crew, which in this case included fellow RCAF member Flight Sergeant C.P.V. Biddlecombe. This crew was posted to No. 226 Squadron on 8 May 1944.

Late in the evening of 18 June 1944, F/S Ulens took off in Mitchell FL192 to attack a target in Normandy. The aircraft was last seen over the English Channel at 2:15 AM on the 19th.  It was never seen again.

He was 19 years old.

19
Jun
1944