Claude Harold Hudson was born in Country Harbour Mines, Guysborough County, on June 2, 1922. Both of Claude’s parents were Guysborough County natives. His father, Harold Vans Hudson, was the son of Samuel Hudson, miller, and Ellen Gunn, Country Harbour, while his mother, Sarah Elizabeth, was the daughter of Isaac Fisher, farmer, and Helen Eadie, Fisher’s Grant.
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| Flight Sergeant Clarence Harold Hudson |
Guysborough County’s Hudson families trace their Nova Scotia roots to three brothers who arrived in Nova Scotia aboard the vessel Nymph in late 1783. The ship, whose passengers included soldiers from three Loyalist regiments who fought for Great Britain during the American Revolution, departed from St. Augustine, Florida, in the spring of the year and eventually arrived in Country Harbour on December 24, 1873.
Two of the vessels’s passengers—Lieutenant Joel Hudson and Sergeant Agan Hudson—received land grants in what became known as the “Major Wright Grant.” A third brother, Higginbotham, accompanied his siblings, but is not mentioned in the grant. Later speculation suggests he may have been too young to qualify for land at the time of his arrival.
Details on the brothers’ lives after their arrival are incomplete. While it is believed that Joel Hudson did not marry, there are few details on his brothers’ marriages and children. Later family accounts state that Lewis Hudson (c. 1790 - c. 1870) was the oldest of Higginbotham’s nine children—six sons and three daughters—and that his wife Elizabeth died in Country Harbour on May 23, 1848.
Lewis Hudson married Mary Ann Clark, daughter of a sea captain from Clark’s Harbour, Yarmouth County. Lewis also earned a living at sea while he and his wife raised a family of nine children—three sons and six daughters—in their Country Harbour home. Samuel Lewis, the couple’s fourth child and youngest son, was born in Country Harbour on April 23, 1847. According to the 1881 Canadian census, Samuel operated a local farm. One of his children’s marriage licenses later listed his occupation as “miller.”
On February 27, 1872, Samuel Lewis Hudson married Ellen “Nelly” Gunn (1847 - 1911), daughter of Donald and Margaret Gunn, in a ceremony that took place in Country Harbour. The couple raised a family of six sons and one daughter over the ensuing years. One son, Leonard, died at age three when he fell into a local mill pond. Two other sons—William and Alfred—eventually settled in British Columbia. A fourth son, Gunn, married and lived in Glace Bay, while Lewis, the second-youngest, never married. Their only daughter, Margaret M., married William R. Mason and raised a family of six a family of six children.
Samuel and Nelly’s youngest son, Harold Vans, was born on April 14, 1886, and remained in the Country Harbour area for most of his life. On September 22, 1915, Harold married Sarah Elizabeth Fisher, daughter of Isaac and Helen Fisher, Fisher’s Mills. Harold was employed as a “clerk” at the time, while Sarah was a school teacher. The couple established residence in Country Harbour Mines, where they raised a family of five children—three sons and two daughters.
Helen Margaret, Harold and Sarah’s oldest child, was born on September 9, 1916. She eventually moved to Vancouver, BC, where she worked as a school teacher. Helen later married but had no children. Bruce, Harold and Sarah’s oldest son, married Ann Smith, Antigonish, and raised a family of three children in his wife’s home community.
Roy Fisher, the couple’s second son, completed undergraduate studies at Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, and went on to earn a Law degree at Dalhousie University, Halifax. He established a law practice in Baddeck and later represented Victoria County in the Nova Scotia Provincial Legislature from 1967 to 1974 and again from 1980 to 1988. During his second term, Fisher served in Premier John Buchanan’s Cabinet.
Mina Ruth, Harold and Sarah’s youngest child, was born around 1924 and completed Nursing studies at the Children’s Hospital, Halifax, in 1946. She was employed at the hospital at the time of her marriage to Harold McNaughton Sinclair, son of John and Nellie Sinclair, Goshen, in Halifax on July 31, 1948.
Mina and Harold established residence on Connaught Avenue, Halifax, where they raised a family of four children. In 1982, they retired to Argyle, Guysborough County. Mina passed away in High-Crest Home for Special Care, Sherbrooke, on December 24, 2019.
Claude Harold, Harold and Sarah’s youngest son, started school in Country Harbour Mines in 1928 and went on to complete Grade X. He remained at home for one year before enrolling in Nova Scotia Technical College, Truro, in September 1939.
Upon finishing Grade XI in the spring of 1949, Claude headed to Pickle Crow, Ontario, where he worked as a “machine operator” in the area’s gold mines for two years. He then returned to Nova Scotia “to join [the] RCAF [Royal Canadian Air Force].”
While awaiting a response to his application, Claude obtained a job as a “checker” at Trenton Industries, Trenton, NS, in August 1942. Upon receiving notice of his acceptance, he enlisted with the RCAF at Halifax on November 20, 1942, and commenced service with the rank of AC2 (Aircraftman Class 2). He then spent the winter of 1942-43 awaiting orders to report for duty.
On April 9, 1943, Claude was “taken on strength” at No. 5 Manning Depot, Lachine, QC. In late May, he proceeded to No. 5 Equipment Depot, Moncton, NB, where he worked for two months. On July 31, he was transferred to No. 9 Pre-Aircrew Education Centre, Montreal, for a six-week pre-service course at McGill University.
On September 10, Claude was deemed “educationally qualified for the category of AIRCREW.” Four days later, he reported to No. 13 Standard Fight Training School, St. Hubert, QC. Upon completing the basic four-week course, Claude spent several days at No. 9 Bomber and Gunnery School, Mont Joli, before moving on to No. 3 Air Gunner Training School, Trois Rivières, QC, for air gunner training.
While in Trois Rivières, Claude logged almost 15 hours of flying time aboard Bailey Battle aircraft while training in Bristol and Browning turrets. He earned a score of 70 % in air firing and placing 59th in a class of 78 trainees. A comment on his assessment described him as a “good student” and “willing worker” with “sufficient self-assurance” to carry out his role.
On November 17, Claude qualified for the trade of “Air Gunner Standard” and was promoted to the rank of Leading Aircraftman (LAC). He then returned to No. 9 Bomber and Gunnery School, Mont Joli, where he logged another 15 hours of flight time while completing his training. On January 14, 1944, he was promoted to the rank of Temporary Flight Sergeant and received his Air Gunner’s Badge. The following day, he received two weeks’ pre-embarkation leave.
Upon returning to duty in late January, Claude was temporarily posted to No. 3 Air Gunner Training School while awaiting further orders. On February 28, 1944, he proceeded to 1Y Depot, Lachine, where he waited for four weeks before heading overseas on March 25. He arrived in the United Kingdom after an eight-day journey and immediately reported to No. 3 RCAF Personnel Reinforcement Centre, Bournemouth.
On April 25, Claude was posted to No. 82 Operational Training Unit (OTU). At this stage, he was assigned to an air crew with whom he would train for four months before entering active service. Claude’s crew consisted of FlightOfficer Alexander Morton Mackie, Winnipeg, MB, pilot; Flight Sergeant John Farquhar, Portsoy, Banffshire, Scotland, flight engineer; Flight Officer Harry Dean Christie, Naicam, SK, bomb aimer; Pilot Officer James Samuel Netzke, Sudbury, ON, navigator; Pilot Officer Harold Allen Carruthers, Biggar, SK, wireless operator/air gunner; and Pilot Officer Fernand Walter Dobbs, Winnipeg, MB, air gunner.
From April to mid-July, Claude and his crew mates logged 42 daytime and 22 nighttime hours aboard two-engine Vickers Wellington bombers, equipped with .303 Browning guns. During his time with No. 82 OTU, Claude earned a score of 71.8 % in his ground course work. Upon finishing the OTU’s program on July 11, the crew was granted five days’ leave. when they returned to duty, the men were posted to No. 1659 Conversion Unit, where they spent five weeks training on four-engine bombers, the last stage of training prior to active service.
On August 25, Claude and his crew were assigned to No. 424 (RCAF) Squadron. Formed at Topcliffe, England, on October 15, 1942, the unit operated Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster bombers during its Second World War operations. At the time of Claude’s arrival, the Squadron was part of Bomber Command’s No. 6 (RCAF) Group, flying Handley Page Halifax B. Mk. III bombers out of No. 63 (RCAF) Base, Skipton-on-Swale, Thursk, North Yorkshire.
Claude and his mates flew their first mission—a bombing raid on Dortmund, Germany—on September 12, 1944. A total of 19 Halifax aircraft participated in the operation, all returning safely to base. Over the rest of the month, the crew completed another six missions, two of which were bombing attacks on industrial targets in Germany. Three missions—one over Boulogne and two over Calais—were carried out in support of Canadian units clearing German forces from French ports along the English Channel.
On two occasions, the crew encountered enemy resistance. During one of its German bombing missions, a Messerschmidt fighter approached their aircraft but rear gun fire repelled the threat. During a September 25 mid-morning raid on Calais, the 16-bomber fleet encountered considerable anti-aircraft fire. One bomber suffered numerous strikes that wounded two crew members, but Claude’s aircraft was unaffected.
On October 10, Claude was formally promoted to the rank of Temporary Flight Sergeant. During the remainder of the month, he and his mates flew five bombing raids on German industrial targets in Duisburg, Essen, Homburg and Cologne (Köln), all without incident. The following month saw another five bombing missions over Germany, along with 424 Squadron’s first losses since the young crew’s arrival—two bombers on November 2 and a third on November 5. During a November 16 attack on Julich, Germany, Claude’s bomber was “hit by heavy flak [that resulted in] one small hole in front of [the] pilot’s windscreen [but caused] no damage to essential parts.”
During the first three weeks of December, the crew logged another four routine bombing raids on German targets. The last 10 days of the month saw a change in the nature of their missions. On December 21, the crew departed on the first of four “gardening” operations, dropping mines along approaches to German-occupied Oslo Harbour, Norway. W/O Mackie, the crew’s pilot, reported a “hydraulics failure” shortly after take-off, forcing the bomber to jettison its payload over open water and safely return to base. The remaining three mining missions—one a solo operation carried out on December 29—were completed without incident.
After a short break during the first week and a half of the New Year, the Squadron resumed operations on January 12, 1945. The day’s plans called for a five-aircraft bombing raid and a three-aircraft mining mission. While the bombing sortie was cancelled, the mining operation proceeded as scheduled. Claude’s crew was one of three aircraft selected to plant mines along the approaches to Flensburg Harbour, Germany, close to the Danish border.
At 1722 hours, three Halifax bombers departed for Flensburg. Only one aircraft safely returned later that night. No. 424 Squadron’s operations log reported there was no trace of Flying Officer A. M. Mackie’s bomber and a second crew under the command of Flying Officer Myles Carson Grant. The Squadron’s daily record of events commented, “The failure to return of F/O Mackie and F/O Grant and crews, two of the most highly trained and capable crews[,] is certainly a great loss to the Squadron.”
On January 19, 1945, 424 Squadron’s Commanding Officer, A. Marshall, wrote a letter to Sarah Hudson, informing her that Claude was officially reported “missing after operations.” He stated that “Claude took part in some of the most important operations with this Squadron and during his stay with us demonstrated great ability and made many friends. His loss is deeply regretted by all.”
As the months passed, there was no sign of Claude or his fellow crew members. On September 21, 1945, a second letter from Air Marshall Robert Leckie, Chief of Air Staff, informed Harold that “your son, Flight Sergeant Claude Harold Hudson, is now for official purposes presumed to have died on Active Service Overseas on January 12, 1945.”
Claude’s name and those of his crew mates are engraved on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, UK, unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II on October 17, 1953. The structure commemorates the deaths of more than 20,000 men and women of the Commonwealth Air Forces who perished while conducting air operations during the Second World War and have no known graves.
Sarah (Fisher) Hudson died in Country Harbour Mines on October 29, 1963, following a nine-month battle with cancer. Her husband Harold passed away in St. Martha’s Hospital, Antigonish, on November 19, 1973, the result of kidney failure. Sarah and Harold were interred in Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Country Harbour Mines. Near their graves, a headstone commemorates the death of their youngest son while serving overseas with the RCAF.
Portrait of Flight Sergeant Claude Harold Hudson courtesy of Jim Sinclair, Goshen, Guysborough County. Genealogical information on the Hudson family obtained from Lillian V. Salsman's "Homeland Volume II: Genealogies."
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