Unknown airmen graves: One family’s search for traces of a beloved pilot lost during the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

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An item from the Legion Magazine.
Weekly Feature
Observation Post

A Lockheed Ventura bomber, like the one Donald Cormack and his crew trained in, circa 1943.
[U.S. Navy/Wikimedia]

Unknown airmen graves: One family’s search for traces of a beloved pilot lost during the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

STORY BY RICHARD FOOT

 

Donald Cormack joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941, one of hundreds of thousands of Australians wanting to serve their country in the Second World War.

He left the small, rural community of Esk, Queensland, and came to Canada to learn how to fly bombers with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). Fifteen months later, in the winter of 1943, Cormack was dead. The 22-year-old was lost along with two other airmen when their Ventura bomber crashed into the Gulf of St. Lawrence during a training exercise.

The bodies of Cormack and his crew—co-pilot Stanley James, 27, a fellow Australian, and wireless air gunner Thomas Hunter, 21, of New Zealand—have never been found.

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The Briefing
The Briefing

A new exhibit at the Canadian War Museum explores the Canadian connections to the U.S. Civil War. [CWM2026-0021-0050-Dm/Courtesy Canadian War Museum]

Canadian War Museum unveils exhibition on the country’s involvement in the U.S. Civil War

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

On Oct. 18, 1864—a mere six months before assassinating U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in what would be the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War—John Wilkes Booth checked in to the St. Lawrence Hall Hotel in Montreal. Renowned for its high-end luxuries, the lodge had likewise earned a reputation for hosting Confederate officials, spies and sympathizers amid hostilities south of the border. Booth was simply the latest such guest to support the rebel cause.

But might the killer’s nine-day visit have been of far greater consequence? Could it have been there—on British North American soil—that Booth plotted the death of the U.S. commander-in-chief?

“Speculation persists to this day,” said Canadian War Museum historian Tim Foran of that mystery, citing Booth’s signature on a torn page of the hotel’s register as “pretty damning evidence.” That same signature is now one of some 100 artifacts featured in a new exhibition dedicated to Canadian connections to the American Civil War.

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National Updates from The Royal Canadian Legion

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Another update on yesterday’s Centenary events from Dominion Command.

Today, The Royal Canadian Legion turns 100

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Royal Canadian Legion Turns 100

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Today marks a historical milestone!

Exactly 100 years ago, on July 17, 1926, the Canadian Legion was formally incorporated. For a century, we have stood as Canada’s fiercest advocate for Veterans, of Remembrance, and the backbone of communities from coast to coast to coast.

You can review the “100 Years of Service: The Royal Canadian Legion: at:

https://legion.ca/ourstory/

One of the activities being promoted as part of the Centenary is the “Don’t Forget to Remember” Campaign.

SHARE YOUR MESSAGE OF REMEMBRANCE

Remembrance isn’t limited to one day. It lives in the stories we carry, the names we speak, and the gratitude we pass from one generation to the next.

To mark 100 years of The Royal Canadian Legion’s commitment to Remembrance, we’re inviting Canadians to come together in a shared tribute. Write a message about what Remembrance means to you, share a name or memory, or leave a few words of thanks.

Each handwritten note will become part of a commemorative mural honouring service, sacrifice, and the memory of the Fallen.

Branch 25 (San Francisco) sent each of its members coloured post-it notes to allow them to participate.  Members of the Branch were also present at Canadian ex-pat events throughout the Bay Area over the past few weeks.

Contributions from Branch 25 (San Francisco) and members of the Canadian ex-pat community in the Bay Area /
Contributions de la filiale 25 (San Francisco) et desmembres de la communauté canadienne expatriée de la région de la baie