John William Thrasher was born on 30th July 1920 in Amherstburg, a small Canadian town in the far southwest of Ontario, very close to the border with the USA. His parents, Charles and Irene Thrasher had fifteen children altogether, although two died in infancy. John was educated at St Anthony’s Primary School and St Rose’s High School and matriculated in 1938. He then worked as a printer’s apprentice for two years, then moved to be a laboratory worker in a soda ash plant.

He enlisted in the RCAF in May 1941, and was selected for Air Observer training, which he completed on 25th September 1941. His CO described him as: ‘Straightforward and assertive. Cautious but fairly aggressive. Quick. Cheerful. Good appearance, and personality. Very good material.’ But by December, he had only passed out 20th out of 22, with an average overall mark. However, in further training, it was noted that although he was weak on navigation, he had achieved 98% in bombing, so he qualified as a bomb aimer.

After arriving in the UK, John was posted to 19 Operational Training Unit at RAF Kinloss in July 1942. It was there that he crewed up with Plt Off Geoff Rice and two men who would eventually form his Dams Raid crew, navigator Flg Off Richard Macfarlane and another Canadian, wireless operator WO Bruce Gowrie.

They moved on to 1660 Conversion Unit at RAF Swinderby in October 1942 to complete heavy bomber training.

Joining 57 Sqn, the crew then flew on nine operations before being posted together over to the new squadron being formed at the same base to undertake training for a special mission.

John’s bomb aiming skills were severely tested during the Operation Chastise training period, but he acquitted himself well, coming second overall in the bombing practice sessions conducted in the first half of April 1943.

On the Dams Raid, AJ-H took off from Scampton at 21.31 but after flying too low over the Waddensee, the mine was ripped out of the bomb bay and the interior of the aircraft severely flooded. They were lucky to get home safely to Scampton when hydraulic power for the undercarriage was lost. When hearing P/O Rice’s story, Sir Arthur Harris, C-in-C, Bomber Command said, “You’re a very lucky young man” --- Guy Gibson also remarked “Bad luck – I almost did the same – it could have happened to anybody”.

From July to December 1943, John continued to fly with Rice and the rest of his crew on many operations – including several to Italy and the raids on the Antheor viaduct (most of which resulted in returning to Scampton via RAF Blida in Algeria to refuel) and the disastrous attack on the Dortmund Ems canal.

On 20th December, eight crews from 617 Squadron were sent on an operation to attack an armaments factory near Liège in Belgium -- Geoff Rice and his Dams Raid crew among them. The target marking wasn’t visible, so the crew was ordered to return with their bombs but at 14,000 feet above Merbes-Le Chateau in Belgium, were shot down by a German night fighter – P/O Rice was the only survivor and the rest of the crew were buried in Gosselies Communal Cemetery, near Hainaut in Belgium.

[John’s brother, Plt Off Charles Thrasher, also joined the RCAF and served as a navigator in the Canadian 424 Squadron, based in Yorkshire and flying Halifaxes. He was awarded the DFC in 1944, with the citation noting his ‘fortitude, courage and devotion to duty.’ Charles survived the war.]

https://dambustersblog.com/2015/01/20/dambuster-of-the-day-no-89-john-thrasher/

Geoff Rice appears to have been protected by the pilot’s armoured seat, as he was thrown clear and somehow managed to deploy his parachute. He regained consciousness in a wood, his parachute having snagged in a tree, and his only injury was a broken wrist. Three farm labourers took him to the Resistance and a friendly doctor set his wrist in plaster -- he then spent the next five months on the run.

Unfortunately, he was betrayed to the secret police and became a PoW, ending up at the notorious Stalag Luft III, scene of the Great Escape. As the Russian army approached, the prisoners were forcibly moved, but were eventually liberated by the Americans. Rice was repatriated after the war and left the RAF in 1947.

https://dambustersblog.com/2014/12/21/dambuster-of-the-day-no-85-geoffrey-rice/