John Hodgson (Jack) Shand Receives His Wing

Scope and Content: John Hodgson (Jack) Shand receives his wing as a wireless operator / air gunner from the officer commanding No. 8 Bombing and Gunnery School at Lethbridge.

History Biographical: John Hodgson (Jack) Shand was born in Lethbridge in 1923, the son of William Buxton Shand and Sarah Ann Shand [nee Hodgson]. Raised and educated locally, Mr. Shand joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in March 1941. He trained in Manitoba at Winnipeg and Brandon, and finally at No. 8 Bombing and Gunnery School, Lethbridge. Sent overeas, Mr. Shand trained for seven months in England and Scotland before being posted to Coastal Command. Promoted to Flying Officer (F/O) in November 1943, John Shand logged more than 600 hours as a wireless operator and air gunner on convoy escorts and anti-submartine patrols in a Sunderland flying boat. Shot down by a submarine, F/O Shand visited Lethbridge on survivors' leave before returning to England. On 26 November 1944 Jack Shand was returning from an anti-submarine patrol in a Sunderland flying boat. A connecting rod on the starboard inner engine broke, the aircraft caught fire and the engine fell off. The aircraft crashed near the railway station at Invergordon, Rosshire, Scotland. F/O Shand and the rest of the flying boat's crew were all killed. Jack Shand is buried in Stonefall Cemetery, Horrogate, Yorkshire, England.

Scope and Content: John Hodgson (Jack) Shand receives his wing as a wireless operator / air gunner from the officer commanding No. 8 Bombing and Gunnery School at Lethbridge.