
MANY CANADIANS RECEIVE AWARDS IN KING’S LIST
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Son of Kenneth A. & Grace L. Blatchford, of Edmonton Specifically listed in AFRO 1292/41 dated |
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BLATCHFORD, F/L Howard Peter (37715) - Distinguished Flying
Cross - No.257 Squadron
Awarded as per London Gazette 6 December 1940.
In November 1940 this officer was the leader of a squadron which destroyed eight and damaged a further five enemy aircraft in one day. In the course of the combat he rammed and damaged a hostile fighter when his ammunition was expended, and the made two determined head-on feint attacks on enemy fighters which drove them off. He has shown magnificent leadership and outstanding courage.
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With the R.C.A.F. Somewhere in England, June 1, 1942—
(CP) — Messroom chatter: First indication that R.C.A.F. flyers took
part in the defence of Singapore comes with the news that Pilot Officer
J.M. Barnes, of Toronto, has become attached to the Royal Australian Air
Force.
Joins R.A.A.F.
Barnes escaped from Singapore and was taken to Australia, where the R.C.A.F.
permitted him to remain to fly with the R.A.A.F. as a navigator.
Many Australian airmen fly with the R.C.A.F. fighter and bomber squadrons
in Britain but this is the first time it has been announced that an R.C.A.F.
flyer is to fly officially with the Australians. Details of Barnes' escape
were not available in London.
Germany's vaunted Focke-Wolf 190 fighter had its measure taken recently
by Canadian Spitfire pilots, who drove off an attack on Boston bombers
they were escorting near Abbeville, France.
Wing-Cmdr. Herb Blatchford, D.F.C., of Edmonton, shot down one FW190 in
flames and Flight-Lieut. Frederick E. Green, of Toronto, damaged another.
Blatchford's aircraft was damaged and he was obliged to make a forced
landing when he returned to base. He suffered minor cuts and bruises.
Blatchford gave his victim such a blasting that he feared flying fragments
would damage his own airscrew and wings.
"I fired two bursts into him at 250 yards," the wing-commander
related afterwards, "and saw flashes in his fuselage, followed by
smoke. I continued following and firing and he took practically no evasive
action. The wreckage finally fell in flames.
"His No. 2 man, I knew, was not far off, but the last I had seen
of him he apparently was being engaged by two Spitfires. At this stage
my attention was distracted by what I thought was firing from two flak
ships below, and while 1 was looking down I got a rude shock. From behind,
cannon shells hit my left aileron, right wing and tire and missed my radiator
by a narrow margin. The result was that my lateral control was unstable,
my right flag was out of commission, the tire was burst and my landing
gear was damaged."
Waterdown Flyer Mentioned
Green, recently appointed flight commander, also saw fragments fly off
the aircraft he attacked but lost sight of it later and could only claim
it as "damaged."
Other Canadians from the squadron who helped repel the Nazi attackers
included Flight-Lieut. John P. McColl, Waterdown, Ont.; Pilot-Officers
R.I. Alpine Smith, Regina; Jack Brookhouse, Montreal; Lloyd Stewart, Fair
Hills, Sask.; Harold Charlesworth, Chemainis, Vancouver Island; Richard
A. Ellis, Montreal; Warrant Officer J.D. Stevenson, Winnipeg; Flight-Sgt
.Stewart Pearce, Toronto, and Sgt. W.F. Aldcorn, Gouverneur, Sask.
Warrant Officers Francis MacRae, Montreal navigator, and Sgt. Pilot Albert
Attwell, of Toronto, both agree "you're safer in the air than on
the ground."
MacRae came back from a hazardous bombing trip to a French arms center.
After reporting to the intelligence officer, he went to the officers’
mess for a hot drink before retiring. The mess floor had been freshly
polished and as he walked in the door he slipped and fell and fractured
his left knee.
Attwell also came through the perils of a bombing attack across the channel.
Returning from St. Nazaire, his aircraft crashed into a hill in England
and he suffered a fracture of the left leg.
The two Canadians share neighboring beds in the same hospital.
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Edmonton, May 7, 1943 (CP) — Wing Cmdr. Howard R Blatchford, D.F.C., of Edmonton, leader of a squadron of Spitfire pilots overseas, is missing after air operations, word received here said. Wing Cmdr. Blatchford is one of Edmonton's best-known fliers and has several enemy planes to his credit. He is the son of the late Kenneth Blatchford, former mayor of Edmonton, and Mrs. [Grace] Blatchford. Edmonton’s airport — Blatchford Field was named after Wing Cmdr. Blatchford's father.
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Ottawa, June 10, 1943 - (CP) - The R.C.A.F. in its 598th
casualty list of the war, containing 52 names, tonight listed six men
as killed on active service overseas and 12 men as missing on active service
after overseas air operations. Fourteen men were listed as previously
reported missing on active service in Newfoundland and now officially
presumed dead. The list contained no casualties suffered in Canada. Included
in the list, with next of kin:
CANADIAN IN THE R.A.F.
BLATCHFORD, Howard Peter. D.F.C., Wing Cmdr. Missing after air operations
overseas. Mrs. K.A. Blatchford (mother), Didsbury, Alta.
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Ottawa, Dec. 8, 1943 — The Department of National
Defense for Air today issued the following casualty list of the Royal
Canadian Air Force (No. 748) with next of:
CANADIAN IN THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
BLATCHFORD. Howard Peter, D.F.C., W/C previously reported missing on active
service overseas, now for official purposes presumed dead. Mrs. K.A. Blatchford
(mother), Didsbury, Alta.
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His last word were:
"I'm going down! I'm going down!"
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Aerial victories as follows: 17 October 1939, one He.111 destroyed 20-30 miles
east of Whitby |
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BLATCHFORD. HOWARD PETER (Cowboy). W/C (P) 37715 - D.F.C., M.i.D. - No.257 Burma Squadron (Thay Myay Gyee Shwe Hii). Lost in the English Channel while escorting bombers to Amsterdam. Blachford destroyed five enemy aircraft (2 shared) during the Battle of Britain while flying Hurricanes with 17 Sqdn. He had been flying Spitfires with 41 Sqdn. when war broke out. In April of 1941 he was assigned to 212 Photo Reconnaissanc Unit at Heston, England. Wing Commander Pilot Blatchford has no known grave, his name is inscribed on the Runnymede War Memorial. Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey, England.
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* Shared a Heinkel-111 on October 17th 1939
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--- Canadian Aces ---
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On
these pages I use info from the Air
force Association of Canada's web site
in Hugh Halliday's excellent Honors & Awards section,
Newspaper articles via the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC)
as well as other sources both published and private