225 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND JOHNSTONE, Ross John Hugh Ross was born in Coldwater, Ontario, on January 12, 1924, the son of Herb James and Beatrice (Clarke) of Coldwater. He attended school in nearby Orillia, and was employed as a boiler maker for a year after his graduation. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force on March 30, 1943 duringWorldWar II. His first months were spent training as aircrew and air gunner at various RCAF stations including Fingal and Jarvis, Ontario, and Valleyfield and Lachine, Quebec. Then, Flight Sergeant Johnstone proceeded overseas to serve as an Air Gunner on Lancaster bombers with No. 625 and No. 170 Squadrons (RAF). On February 23, 1945, Ross and his crew were on a mission to Pforzheim, Germany when their Lancaster (PB 595) was shot down. Johnstone and two other crew members were killed in the crash, while four others managed to bail out, were taken prisoners, and returned home at the end of the war. Flight Sergeant Ross Johnstone was 21 years old when he died. He is buried in the Durnbach War Cemetery, south of Munich, Germany. JONES, Richard William “Dick” Richard was born in Victoria, BC, on December 15, 1917. He joined the Army in 1940, and after training was recruited by the Royal Canadian Air Force. He trained with the BCATP and was posted to Uplands as an instructor for new recruits as fighter pilots. He was posted to Goose Bay in early 1944, transferred to #4 B&G Fingal in March 1944, and then transferred to Uplands in late April 1944. Dick was sent overseas to England on June 5, 1944. On December 28, 1944, he was transferred to Volkel, Holland. He was forced down with engine failure on February 8, 1945, near Apeldoorn, Holland and taken in by farmers. He joined the resistance under the name William Dejong and was caught on May 4. General Crerar of the 1st Canadian Army sent them to the house where Dick was and told the Germans they knew they had a Canadian Officer and to let him go. The Germans brought Dick up and he thought it was to shoot him. He had forged papers and out of uniform: a spy. Nearing execution, he saw the khaki uniforms and knew he was saved. He was discharged inAugust 1945. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion in Trenton and in Kingsville. Dick passed away on December 5, 1982. JONES, Leslie T. “Les” Les was born in Sarnia, Ontario on August 3, 1961. He enlisted in the Army (Regular Force) in August 1981 and served with the 1st Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment in Cyprus in 1984 and 1985. He was released in July 1985. After leaving the Royal Canadian Regiment, Les returned home to Sarnia where he joined the Sarnia Police Service. After thirty years as a police officer, he retired in January 2016. Les is a six-year member of The Royal Canadian Legion Sarnia Branch 62.
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