Harry Henning Rasmussen
(1923 - 2001)
Profile
Harry Henning Rasmussen was one of the Danish Nationals volunteering for the Royal Canadian Air Force. He served as a flight engineer but it is not clear if he was aircrew or ground crew.
Harry Henning Rasmussen was born on 2 March 1923 in Copenhagen, to worker Hans Anton Rasmussen and Emma Rasmussen (née Johansson).[1]
The family emigrated to Canada in 1928, arriving in St. John, New Brunswick, from Liverpool onboard the SS Minnedosa. Their final destination was Salmenhorst, New Brunswick. Their contact in Canada was the Danish lutheran reverend Emil Nommesen.[2] Rasmussen’s father died of lung cancer on 13 November 1929 following five months illness.[3] His mother remarried Ernest Archie Hawlett on 20 June 1931.
Rasmussen volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the Second World War.[4] There is very little information available other than that he was trained and served as a flight engineer. He was naturalised on 14 October 1944 while serving in the RCAF.[5]
Rasmussen lived in Hamilton, Ontario, after the war. He served as president of the 447 Royal Canadian Air Force Association. He died on 13 May 2001.[6]
Endnotes
[1] DNA: Parish register, Brønshøj sogn.
[2] Ancestry: Canada, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1865-1935.
[3] Ancestry: New Brunswick, Canada, Deaths, 1888-1938.
[4] Obituary for Harry Henning Rasmussen, The Hamilton Spectator, 15 May 2001, p. 24.
[5] Canada Gazette, 6 May 1945, p. 2312.
[6] Obituary for Harry Henning Rasmussen, The Hamilton Spectator, 15 May 2001, p. 24.