Read some of the incredible stories shared on For Evermore: Stories of the Fallen, our online archive, of those who fell in the final year of the Second World War in the Far East. While born in Trail, Robert was raised in Nelson where his father was a jeweller. Robert was later transferred to Kenya to serve in the East African theatre. At the controls of Hawker Hurricanes, the Canadian naval pilot performed mostly shore-based operations, spending two years in Nairobi.
Between August , Robert took part in the unsuccessful Operation Goodwood raids on the formidable German battleship Tirpitz hiding in the fjords of Norway.
On 29 August , Robert was Mentioned in Dispatches for his part in an attack on three German destroyers. Formidable and her carrier aircraft supported the invasion of Okinawa and in July, Robert was involved in strikes on the Japanese mainland. Robert was decorated with a Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the sinking of a Japanese destroyer on July On August 9th, , at Onagawa Bay, Robert led an attack on a group of Japanese naval vessels, sinking the Etorofu-class escort ship Amakusa before his plane was hit and crashed into the bay.
For this action, he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Robert was one of the last Canadians killed in the Second World War. Come wartime, John chose to use his medical training by joining the 10th Australian General Hospital, shopping out to Singapore in Like tens of thousands of Commonwealth troops, he was captured when the city fell, becoming a prisoner of war.
In , John was part of the second group forced on the Sandakan Death Marches. John was offered the chance to join the small band of POWs planning their escape but chose to remain with the sick and dying men. He did, however, give one of the escapees his boots. John and 14 others were shot by their Japanese guards on 27 August Tragically, the Japanese government had surrendered 12 days earlier. Want more stories like this delivered directly to your inbox?
