LAC Phillip Holmes

[LiamLondon]

Thank you for posting the great information on LAC Phillips Holmes.

I'm trying to obtain access to the RCAF service/war record for LAC Phillips Holmes' younger brother--1 Lt Air Corps Ralph D Holmes (born Dec 5, 1915 in Chicago, died Nov 16, 1945 in New York), he died from barbiturate overdose in New York a few months after being discharged from service.

Ralph Holmes was a pilot officer of the RCAF, having enlisted in Ottawa in the late-summer of 1941, and graduated in February 1942, after which he was posted to Trenton, Ont., from where he went overseas in January 1944.

In June/July 1944 Ralph transferred to the United States Army Air Forces.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Liam

[BFBSM]

I'm trying to obtain access to the RCAF service/war record for LAC Phillips Holmes' younger brother--1 Lt Air Corps Ralph D Holmes (born Dec 5, 1915 in Chicago, died Nov 16, 1945 in New York), he died from barbiturate overdose in New York a few months after being discharged from service.

Liam,

I believe you will need to apply for copies of his records from the LAC: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/transpare ... .aspx#tab2, the link provided will give you information on how to go about doing so.

[Temujin]

Thank you for posting the great information on LAC Phillips Holmes.

I'm trying to obtain access to the RCAF service/war record for LAC Phillips Holmes' younger brother--1 Lt Air Corps Ralph D Holmes (born Dec 5, 1915 in Chicago, died Nov 16, 1945 in New York), he died from barbiturate overdose in New York a few months after being discharged from service.

Ralph Holmes was a pilot officer of the RCAF, having enlisted in Ottawa in the late-summer of 1941, and graduated in February 1942, after which he was posted to Trenton, Ont., from where he went overseas in January 1944.

In June/July 1944 Ralph transferred to the United States Army Air Forces.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Liam

My God, I’ve NEVER seen a man who flew to the USA from Canada so much......sometime every two weeks.......I’d really like to know WHY ?????.....did he have a LOT of money.....or was Canada funding the trips??......Records say “Pilot” and sometimes “Pilot Instructor” and sometimes with RCAF

Here’s what I’ve found so far

739B6076-ABFD-4FAE-B6B5-6CB4B3259FD7.jpeg (484.86 KiB) Viewed 13342 times

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E30D5B1C-CDE2-42C5-9C70-B1B2326FF246.jpeg (373.93 KiB) Viewed 13342 times

[Temujin]

I could post more of these, but this is unbelievable in my mind........about 10 to 15 more of these flights from Toronto to New York??

I’m going to look for other information first

[Temujin]

70895A5E-AB92-4B10-91C8-C6DB43C062F8.jpeg (666.62 KiB) Viewed 13339 times

F6FE7024-040E-49E3-88D2-C3423DEC3BAB.jpeg (22.33 KiB) Viewed 13339 times

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57C74B21-76D7-42B0-AC2F-1923F04D0A8F.jpeg (461.48 KiB) Viewed 13339 times

[Temujin]

OK, got it......yes the family had money.......still wondering about the background, normally the RCAF wouldn’t let their pilots go “all over the country” every few days.......when reading all of this, its a strange storey,

EDAF3967-EE9C-4F53-9D73-0641B88CED2A.jpeg (313.79 KiB) Viewed 13338 times

D368E112-6352-4396-96C4-94D7CCFCCC7B.jpeg (207.69 KiB) Viewed 13338 times

[LiamLondon]

I'm trying to obtain access to the RCAF service/war record for LAC Phillips Holmes' younger brother--1 Lt Air Corps Ralph D Holmes (born Dec 5, 1915 in Chicago, died Nov 16, 1945 in New York), he died from barbiturate overdose in New York a few months after being discharged from service.

Liam,

I believe you will need to apply for copies of his records from the LAC: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/transpare ... .aspx#tab2, the link provided will give you information on how to go about doing so.

Dear BFBSM

Thank you for you reply. I will attempt to access Ralph Holmes' through this route, though I'm not sure how much information it will provide (since Ralph transferred to the USAAF, furthermore Ralph did not die in service, he died after the war which appears make some records inaccessible).

Can I come back to you if I need further help--I'm doing historical research on the Holmes, and I'm not military, so I may need assistance. I have Phillips Holmes full records, and would like to get the same full records for Ralph (in fact, Ralph's records are more important for the area of my research).

Liam

[LiamLondon]

I could post more of these, but this is unbelievable in my mind........about 10 to 15 more of these flights from Toronto to New York??

I’m going to look for other information first

Dear Temujin

I cannot thank you enough for the information and the documents you have provided. Are you able to provide a link to the full resource of the passenger information lists and the other documents you sourced, it would help me tremendously.

I was aware that Ralph seemed to commute back to New York from Canada quite frequently, however I wasn't aware how usual this was. Were service people able to 'pay' for extended leave/furlough to visit family if they had the funds to do so?

Many thanks

Liam

[LiamLondon]

Greetings all ! Looking for further info on LAC Phillip Holmes, RCAF, R/143895, born Grand Rapids Michigan, parents New York City, died August 12, 1942, was involved in a mid-air collision, looking for Squadron / School, Aircraft, Serial #, and if possible, what happened. Appreciate any help and assistance with this !

Cheers

George

Hi Everyone

I have another couple questions about LAC Phillips Holmes:

1) Phillips apparently shaved off a few years from his age to ensure his eligibility into the RCAF -- what was the upper age limit for service people to enlist in into the RCAF 1941?
2) Phillips is sometimes referred to as 'the first Hollywood actor killed in active service'; The air-collision in which he and others were killed was officially designated by the RCAF as 'killed in active service'--but does anyone know if he was the first Hollywood actor killed in active service, I'm pretty sure he was.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Liam

[Temujin]

I'm trying to obtain access to the RCAF service/war record for LAC Phillips Holmes' younger brother--1 Lt Air Corps Ralph D Holmes (born Dec 5, 1915 in Chicago, died Nov 16, 1945 in New York), he died from barbiturate overdose in New York a few months after being discharged from service.

Liam,

I believe you will need to apply for copies of his records from the LAC: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/transpare ... .aspx#tab2, the link provided will give you information on how to go about doing so.

Dear BFBSM

Thank you for you reply. I will attempt to access Ralph Holmes' through this route, though I'm not sure how much information it will provide (since Ralph transferred to the USAAF, furthermore Ralph did not die in service, he died after the war which appears make some records inaccessible).

Can I come back to you if I need further help--I'm doing historical research on the Holmes, and I'm not military, so I may need assistance. I have Phillips Holmes full records, and would like to get the same full records for Ralph (in fact, Ralph's records are more important for the area of my research).

Liam

Liam, you can still get his records. You just need to “prove” his death......and all the newspaper articles are acceptable as proof, and a Headstone shot if you have it.

I have worked on other American’s who joined the RCAF and transferred back......and all their Canadian records are still “on file” here in Canada at LAC. If you have questions on the paperwork, just ask us, we can help. Ordering his files can be done “on line” at the link BFFSM sent you