JOHNSON, Nora
Age at Death: 30
Rank Corporal
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division
Service Number W307410
Place of Burial Ottawa Memorial
Date of Birth 1915.02.10
Place of Birth Regina SK
Enlistment September 2, 1942, Vancouver BC
Date of Death 1945.07.13
Daughter of Edward C. W. Johnson and Alice Mary Johnson, of Victoria, BC
Nora was a victim of the 1945 airplane crash of Liberator 11121 on Vancouver Island, which killed 13 people including two other airwomen. Born to English immigrants, she had five siblings including a twin sister. Prior to enlisting, she had worked mainly as a public school teacher. Her assessment read “Very good type. Keen sense of responsibility, good wit, excellent. NCO material,” and she was accepted as a Meteorological Observer.
As the war wound down and the army prepared to discharge her, she was evaluated as “considered to have outstanding mental capacity.” A few days after this evaluation, she had a weekend pass and boarded Liberator 11121 for a trip out of town.
Following her death, the RCAF Station at Comox, BC sent a letter of condolence to her parents. The letter is identical to that sent to the parents of fellow crash victim Pamela Bennet, with only their names changed.
