1942-1945 RCAF Duffle Bag

Object/Artifact

Royal Canadian Military Institute

Name/Title

Entry/Object ID

2024.32.4

Description

1942-1945 Royal Canadian Air Force duffle bag made of cotton or linen canvas. The bag has twelve brass grommets at the top edge (1.7 cm diameter) and a circle flap of canvas sewn on one side (24 cm diameter). On the body is a painted blue stripe (about 5 cm wide).

Context

Owned by Wendell Stuart Curtis from Standstead, Quebec. No. 442 Caribou Squadron. He was the pilot of a Spitfire aircraft and was bombing a railway junction in Hauxbeck, Germany, when he was killed in action, Nov. 7, 1944, after being hit by a flak. The aircraft went straight into the ground; no parachute was seen. He is now buried at the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Kiev, Germany.

Made/Created

Date made

circa 1942 - circa 1944

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Accession Number

Location

Sewn in inside opening under flap

Type

Inscription

Location

Body, near bottom

Transcription

"P/O W S CuRtis J39818 R.C.A.F."

Material/Technique

Pen

Type

Inscription

Location

Body, near top

Transcription

"P/O W S CuRtis 442 SQdN"

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Bag

Width

44 cm

Depth

82 cm

Length

82 cm

Diameter

44 cm

Dimension Notes

Width measures flat