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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Roy Fredrick Schimmens

In memory of:

Warrant Officer Class II Roy Fredrick Schimmens

April 10, 1944

Military Service

Service Number:

R/125729

Age:

26

Force:

Air Force

Unit:

Royal Canadian Air Force

Additional Information

Son of Christie and Katherine Schimmens, of Pembroke, Ontario.

Commemorated on Page 437 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information

Cemetery:

RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL
Surrey, United Kingdom

Grave Reference:

Panel 254. .

Location:

During the Second World War more than 116,000 men and women of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth gave their lives in service. More than 17,000 of these were members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, or Canadians serving with the Royal Air Force. Approximately one-third of all who died have no known grave. Of these, 20,450 are commemorated by name on the Runnymede Memorial, which is situated at Englefield Green, near Egham, 32 kilometers by road west of London.

The design of the Runnymede Memorial is original and striking. On the crest of Cooper's Hill, overlooking the Thames, a square tower dominates a cloister, in the centre of which rests the Stone of Remembrance. The cloistered walks terminate in two lookouts, one facing towards Windsor, and the other towards London Airport at Heathrow. The names of the dead are inscribed on the stone reveals of the narrow windows in the cloisters and the lookouts. They include those of 3,050 Canadian airmen. Above the three-arched entrance to the cloister is a great stone eagle with the Royal Air Force motto, Per Ardua ad Astra". On each side is the inscription:

IN THIS CLOISTER ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF TWENTY THOUSAND AIRMEN WHO HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE. THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM IN RAID AND SORTIE OVER THE BRITISH ISLES AND THE LANDS AND SEAS OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE

In the tower a vaulted shrine, which provides a quiet place for contemplation, contains illuminated verses by Paul H. Scott."

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

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  • Newspaper Clipping– Remembered on the pages of the Ottawa Journal. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – Remembered on the pages of the Ottawa Journal. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Memorial– Warrant Officer Class II Roy Fredrick Schimmens is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

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    Memorial
    Memorial – Warrant Officer Class II Roy Fredrick Schimmens is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Memorial– Warrant Officer Class II Roy Fredrick Schimmens is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

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    Memorial
    Memorial – Warrant Officer Class II Roy Fredrick Schimmens is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Memorial– Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

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    Memorial
    Memorial – Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Photo of ROY FREDRICK SCHIMMENS– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Photo of ROY FREDRICK SCHIMMENS
    Photo of ROY FREDRICK SCHIMMENS – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of Roy Schimmens– Photo of WO2 Schimmens courtesy of his sister, Doris Turner, Gananoque, Ontario. He was killed April 10, 1944 while completing his training at #24 Operational Training Unit, Honeybourne, Worcestershire. The crew was on board Whitley aircraft Z-1963 and were on a night cross-country training exercise when their aircraft failed to return to base. The following Canadians were members of the crew: Sgt. (P) Frederick C. Smith, age 26, from Toronto Sgt. (N) Thos. W. Mechefske, of Guelph. F.Sgt.(AG) Robt. F. Reaume, age 20, from Windsor F/O (BA) Geo. J. Palsen, age 19, from Ottawa Their names are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

    Details

    Photo of Roy Schimmens
    Photo of Roy Schimmens – Photo of WO2 Schimmens courtesy of his sister, Doris Turner, Gananoque, Ontario. He was killed April 10, 1944 while completing his training at #24 Operational Training Unit, Honeybourne, Worcestershire. The crew was on board Whitley aircraft Z-1963 and were on a night cross-country training exercise when their aircraft failed to return to base. The following Canadians were members of the crew: Sgt. (P) Frederick C. Smith, age 26, from Toronto Sgt. (N) Thos. W. Mechefske, of Guelph. F.Sgt.(AG) Robt. F. Reaume, age 20, from Windsor F/O (BA) Geo. J. Palsen, age 19, from Ottawa Their names are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
  • Group Photo– Photo of WO2 Schimmens (bottom left) and unidentified crew members. Courtesy of his sister, Doris Turner, Gananoque, Ontario.

    Details

    Group Photo
    Group Photo – Photo of WO2 Schimmens (bottom left) and unidentified crew members. Courtesy of his sister, Doris Turner, Gananoque, Ontario.
  • Newspaper Clipping– Petawawa Post pg 2 with photo

    Details

    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – Petawawa Post pg 2 with photo
  • Newspaper Clipping– Petawawa Post Clipping pg 1

    Details

    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – Petawawa Post Clipping pg 1
  • Newspaper Clipping– This is the story of a ring which had been presented to those who served from Petawawa, Ontario. One day in 1968, it was found by Doris Buckman, in the sand on a beach in Cobourg, Ontario. Mrs. Buckman's husband, Ernie, was in the military and it was 50 years later that he discovered it in a box while at home in Shilo, Manitoba. He sent it to his daugher in Petawawa and the search for its owner began. Eventually, it was given to Roy's only sister, Doris Turner now living in Gananoque, Ontario. The story was carried in The Gananoque Reporter on April 9, 1997. Her brother had married and he and his wife, Doris, had a daughter, Kay, before he went overseas. She was only 2 years old when her father was killed and thus never knew him. In 1998, Mrs. Turner gave the ring to his daughter, now Kay McLeod of Calgary, Alberta. (It is a coincidence that Roy's sister, his wife, and the lady who found the ring are all named Doris.) The newsclippings and story are courtesy of Doris Schimmens Turner.

    Details

    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – This is the story of a ring which had been presented to those who served from Petawawa, Ontario. One day in 1968, it was found by Doris Buckman, in the sand on a beach in Cobourg, Ontario. Mrs. Buckman's husband, Ernie, was in the military and it was 50 years later that he discovered it in a box while at home in Shilo, Manitoba. He sent it to his daugher in Petawawa and the search for its owner began. Eventually, it was given to Roy's only sister, Doris Turner now living in Gananoque, Ontario. The story was carried in The Gananoque Reporter on April 9, 1997. Her brother had married and he and his wife, Doris, had a daughter, Kay, before he went overseas. She was only 2 years old when her father was killed and thus never knew him. In 1998, Mrs. Turner gave the ring to his daughter, now Kay McLeod of Calgary, Alberta. (It is a coincidence that Roy's sister, his wife, and the lady who found the ring are all named Doris.) The newsclippings and story are courtesy of Doris Schimmens Turner.
  • Memorial– Inscription - Runnymede Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

    Details

    Memorial
    Memorial – Inscription - Runnymede Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

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