109 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca KING, Harold Herbert WWII Herbert was born on July 1, 1920 in Virden, Manitoba. He was the only son of Rev. William King and Lola Edith Groese. He enlisted with the 101 Squadron on May 9, 1942 with the Air Force while his father ministered in High Bluff, Manitoba. He trained in Edmonton, Saskatoon, Virden, Brandon and Paulson receiving his Bomber Wings in Winnipeg. The Lancaster and crew of eight, including Harold, flew out of RAF Station Ludford Magna England at 2215 on June 30, 1944 with a target at Vierzon, France, his 23rd mission. Harold was reported missing on July 4, 1944. On August 7, 1945, a local woman reported a burnt out plane and seven or eight bodies in a field between Autheuil and La Chapelle-du-Noyer. FO King was buried in Grave #597 in the Chateaudun Civil Cemetery located thirty miles north of Orleans, France and was posthumously awarded the Operational Wings. King Creek was named in his honour. KNIGHT, Albert James “Tim” WWII Tim was born on a farm near Clearwater, Manitoba on November 10, 1917. He worked on the farm prior to enlisting in the RCAF on November 21, 1941 in Winnipeg. Tim started basic training in Lachine, Quebec, basic aeronautics in Belleville, Ontario as well as training in a Tiger Moth in Windsor Mill, Quebec. He graduated as a Pilot in Moncton, New Brunswick in March 1943, sailing to Scotland in April on the Queen Elizabeth. Tim then went on to Bournemouth, England, which was a holding unit for Canadian Airmen. He flew Oxford aircraft at Church Lawford, England training in cross country and solo. Tim was at a concert in London where Vera Lynn was singing when there was an air raid. No one could leave, so the airmen stayed and Tim had a dance with Vera. He was part of 433 Porcupine Squadron at Skipton-onSwale, England for some of the war. Tim was staff pilot on the Isle of Man, flying aircraft to train student navigators who had finished basic training. On November 30, 1943, he was flying for a night navigation exercise. They got into heavy cloud and the aircraft started to ice up, that’s when they hit the side of a Welsh mountain. Tim woke up some time later and it took a while to realize what happened. In the morning, Tim and a crewman walked down the mountain until they came upon a Welsh family. The rest of the crew was rescued by the Welsh Mountain Service. Tim’s nose was pulled off to the side of his face needing plastic surgery. The crash was made into a BBC radio broadcast promoting the Welsh rescue team. Shortly after this, Tim was promoted to Flying Officer. One memorable occasion Tim recalled was in the evening of May 7, 1945 when he was on a flight to an area off the coast of Norway to lay mines. His Lancaster aircraft had six tons of mines and 2,000 gallons of fuel. Tim just got off the ground when it came over the radio that the war was over. He flew over the North Sea along England for five and a half hours to burn enough fuel for a safe landing. What Tim noticed as he flew were lights coming on in the towns and farms as the English people slowly realized the blackout was over, after more than five years of war. It was “like England was waking up after five years of complete blackouts”, “just like coming back to life again”. Tim also volunteered for Japan after getting back to Canada, but the war ended. He left the Air Force after the war and farmed for ten years, rejoining as an LAC at the age of 36. Tim was stationed in France for four years as part of NATO after he rejoined. Tim passed away in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba on December 22, 2006.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==