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Arthur Joseph Monserez was the adopted son of Alphonse and Clotilde Monserez, of Waskatenau, Alberta, Canada. He was named Arthur after their son who drowned in 1910.
Having joined the RCAF in 1940 he qualified as a Sergeant pilot on 15 July 1941, travelling to the UK the following month. On 8 Oct 1941 he joined 403 Squadron at Martlesham from 58 OTU. While at 403 he was a room-mate of "Screwball" Beurling.
On 15 Jan 1942 he was promoted to Temporary Flight Sergeant. On the 17th he was on a training flight for formation flying and cine-gun practice. It is thought that the undercarriage may have been damaged in a bounce shortly after take-off. On his landing approach the undercarriage did not come down and he started a series of manoeuvres to free it. Flying in to cloud it would seem that he lost speed and fell into a spin. He recovered but at too low an altitude, crashed and was killed instantly. He is buried in North Weald Churchyard, Essex, England. Aged 19.
This pilot flew Spitfire fighter aircraft for the RCAF / RAF (60% of all RCAF personnel served in RAF units at some point) in WWII, this record has come from the database of Mr. Halliday, a Canadian military historian.
This Pilot's entry: cause of death was flying accident, burial location UK, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (www.cwgc.org) may have more information on family.
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