Suitcase was a journey of historical discovery for local man

Frank Moore kneels beside a suitcase of war memorabilia that sparked a journey of discovery. The painting behind him was commissioned to depict the day the Halifax bomber was shot down during the Second World War, which started the tale. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

It will be full circle when Frank Moore donates a suitcase of Second World War memorabilia to the air force base in Nova Scotia where the pilot it belonged to was stationed.

The journey started in 2013 when Moore acquired a suitcase with wartime letters, official documents, and militaria in it. The suitcase belonged to Alex McCracken, a Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force member who was shot down over Ten Boer, Holland.

McCracken’s mother had the suitcase in the basement of her Montreal home. When she passed away, her next-door neighbour was the executor of the estate and sold the suitcase. A collector from Mississauga purchased it initially.

“He put it on the market and I thought I didn’t know much about the contents, but this is a great opportunity to research it,” Moore said.

He is a charter member of the Tillsonburg Military History Club, initiated the banner program in Tillsonburg honouring local veterans, and was part of the effort to have the names of deceased soldiers listed on the town cenotaph.

McCracken was the navigator on a Halifax bomber that was part of the 405 Pathfinder squadron. The Pathfinders went ahead of other bombers and dropped target indicators for the bombing crews. The mission's target on July 25, 1943, was Essen, Germany.

“En route, they were attacked by a BF110 Night Fighter piloted by German Paul Zorner,” Moore recounted of one of the facts he uncovered. Although thousands of Allied planes were shot down over Holland, the Halifax bomber that crash landed in July 1943 was the only one in Ten Boer.

Moore found one of the unique circumstances in this case was one of the six crew members survived the crash, but the families didn’t know who the surviving airman was for nine months because he was captured by the Germans and held as a prisoner of war. Over the nine months, the mothers of the crew started to write to each other. Five of the crew were Canadians and one was British.

When he found out about the communication between the mothers, he talked to military author Ted Barris about it. The latter subsequently wrote about the unique story revealed by the suitcase. Moore had a painting commissioned of the night the Halifax was shot down, which was presented to Ten Boor in 2016. A member of the RCAF attended the ceremony. Local author Jason Pankratz wrote a book, Six Graves in the Village, about the story in 2021.

On July 25 of this year, the village of Ten Boer unveiled a display at the site of their graves paying tribute to the airmen who died in the crash. A fundraiser was held in Holland to pay the costs of the display.

Moore hoped to donate the suitcase to the museum at the base in Nova Scotia, but a personnel change set his timeline back. He is hopeful it will occur before the end of the year.

“What it does for me is it gives me a sense of accomplishment that I was able to take my suitcase, with the help of other people, discover the story, find information about the crew and have them honoured forever,” he said.