VASSIMONT-ET-CHAPELAINE CHURCHYARD
Marne
France
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 48.76371, Longitude: 4.14464
Image above © Johan Pauwels
Location Information
Vassimont-et-Chapelaine is a village and commune 28 kilometres south-west of Châlons-en-Champagne, and 11 kilometres east of Fère-Champenoise. In the churchyard, in front of and to the south of the church, is the grave of one Canadian airman.
Images in gallery below © Thierry Grier
J/90346 Pilot Officer
Albert John Rammage,
Air Gunner in 49 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
19th July 1944.
Sgt. John Albert Rammage was born on April 23, 1924, in Toronto, Ontario, to John and Lauren Rammage. He was one of four brothers and two sisters. He left high school in 1940 to work at General Steel Works as a furnaceman but soon left to find a better job at T. Eaton's Co. as a vat dryer in 1941. In 1942, after turning 18, he decided to enlist and joined the Queen's York Rangers as a drummer, later transferring to the RCAF. On October 14, 1942, he married the love of his life, Dorothy Parton.
On August 23, 1943, he began his basic gunnery course at #9 Bombing and Gunnery School in Mont-Joli, Quebec, and graduated on October 1, 1943, ranked 59th out of 122. He embarked on a troop transport on October 16, 1943, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and upon arriving in England, was initially billeted at RCAF No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre in Bournemouth.
He then proceeded to take a 3-day crew night operations course at No. 29 Operational Training Unit in North Luffenham, followed by another three months of training at No. 17 Operational Training Unit in Silverstone. After completing his course on February 29, 1944, he moved to Bomber Base No. 51 in Swinderby. Two months later, in May, he joined No. 49 Bomber Squadron.
Roughly two months after that, on the night of July 18, 1944, he, his crew, and 253 Lancaster crews, along with 10 Mosquitoes, departed to participate in Operation Revigny. The mission was to bomb the town of Revigny, France, which contained a crucial railway junction used for supplying the German Army. After crossing the coast of France, the crews were hit by spotlights and anti-aircraft fire. Upon arriving over the target, the crews released their bombs and turned to head home. However, over France, Sgt. Rammage's Lancaster was hit by flak, causing it to lag behind the rest of the group. It was then targeted by German night fighters. Tragically, Sgt. John Albert Rammage was killed during this fight. The plane, too damaged to continue home, forced the remaining six crew members to bail out. Five of the six hid with the French Resistance, while one was captured and spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp.
Sgt. Rammage was buried in the Vassimont-et-Chapelaine Churchyard in Marne, France, and was posthumously promoted to Pilot Officer. Sadly, he left behind his young wife and their 20-month-old daughter, Donna. Hopefully, Donna knew what a brave and remarkable man her father was.
Albert John Rammage,
Air Gunner in 49 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
19th July 1944.
Sgt. John Albert Rammage was born on April 23, 1924, in Toronto, Ontario, to John and Lauren Rammage. He was one of four brothers and two sisters. He left high school in 1940 to work at General Steel Works as a furnaceman but soon left to find a better job at T. Eaton's Co. as a vat dryer in 1941. In 1942, after turning 18, he decided to enlist and joined the Queen's York Rangers as a drummer, later transferring to the RCAF. On October 14, 1942, he married the love of his life, Dorothy Parton.
On August 23, 1943, he began his basic gunnery course at #9 Bombing and Gunnery School in Mont-Joli, Quebec, and graduated on October 1, 1943, ranked 59th out of 122. He embarked on a troop transport on October 16, 1943, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and upon arriving in England, was initially billeted at RCAF No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre in Bournemouth.
He then proceeded to take a 3-day crew night operations course at No. 29 Operational Training Unit in North Luffenham, followed by another three months of training at No. 17 Operational Training Unit in Silverstone. After completing his course on February 29, 1944, he moved to Bomber Base No. 51 in Swinderby. Two months later, in May, he joined No. 49 Bomber Squadron.
Roughly two months after that, on the night of July 18, 1944, he, his crew, and 253 Lancaster crews, along with 10 Mosquitoes, departed to participate in Operation Revigny. The mission was to bomb the town of Revigny, France, which contained a crucial railway junction used for supplying the German Army. After crossing the coast of France, the crews were hit by spotlights and anti-aircraft fire. Upon arriving over the target, the crews released their bombs and turned to head home. However, over France, Sgt. Rammage's Lancaster was hit by flak, causing it to lag behind the rest of the group. It was then targeted by German night fighters. Tragically, Sgt. John Albert Rammage was killed during this fight. The plane, too damaged to continue home, forced the remaining six crew members to bail out. Five of the six hid with the French Resistance, while one was captured and spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp.
Sgt. Rammage was buried in the Vassimont-et-Chapelaine Churchyard in Marne, France, and was posthumously promoted to Pilot Officer. Sadly, he left behind his young wife and their 20-month-old daughter, Donna. Hopefully, Donna knew what a brave and remarkable man her father was.
Image above © Thierry Grier
