(Bob) Robert Davidson
"Jumbo" Grassick

MERE HANDFUL OF PILOTS ALIVE

London, Oct. 13. 1945 - (AP) - Fewer than 50 of "the few" Battle of Britain fighter pilots who saved this island from German invasion in the gloomy autumn of 1940 are alive today.
All the rest of the 375 top-flight fighters of the battle were killed in action. The last one went down six weeks before the war ended.
Almost all of those whose luck kept them alive through five years of war still are serving in the R.A.F., Air Ministry records show. Many of them, too young to have had civilian professions when they joined up, plan to make the air force their career.
Most widely known among the survivors is legless Group Capt. Douglas Bader, 35, who led the "All-Canadian" squadron of the R.A.F. into the Battle of Britain.
Turner High On List
Among the men who flew with him and lived to see the war through are Group Capt. P. S. (Stan) Turner, born in Devon, England, but who lived most of his life in Toronto. Taciturn and superstitious, Turner would never pose for newspaper photographers. "Bad luck," he said succinctly.
Turner was one of the young Canadians who went to England before the war to join the R.A.F. and was posted to Squadron 242, which became the "All-Canadian" unit, and which numbers among it, survivors Flt.-Lt. R. D. (Bob) Grassick, of London, Ont.; recently returned from Egypt.
Bader fought the Battle of Britain from the cockpit of a Hurricane using a set of artificial legs. He previously had made flying history with a comeback after a flying accident in 1931 cost him both legs. Bader was shot down over France after the crucial battle and spent four years in German prison camps before the United States 1st Army set him free last summer.
Defies Hun Captors
He had broken his artificial legs in his parachute jump to German capture and a new set was parachuted to him by Flight-Sgt. Jack Nickleson, of Toronto, since lost. Bader attempted to escape four times so the Germans took away his legs.
He now is second in command of the R.A.F.'s famous 11 Fighter Group, the same outfit with which he fought in 1940.
The commander of No. 11 Group during some of the hottest days was Sir Keith Park, now Allied air commander of the Southeast Asia command. He is an air chief marshal.
Little Art (Sailor) Malan, one of the most publicized pilots in the Battle of Britain, gained additional fame in the defense of Malta, where he shot down 16 enemy planes. He now is a group captain at R.A.F. Staff College.
F. R. Carey, another one of the original few, has a desk job in the same office with Bader. Wing-Cmdr. P. M. Brothers, veteran Hurricane ace, is one of the top men at the R.A.F. Cadet College.
Among other old-timers holding staff jobs are: Wing-Cmdr W. Crowley-Milling, Keith Lofts, Bill Drake, Joe Ellis and Tom Vigors. All those names once were virtually household words around London.
Released, Serves Again
Al Donaldson, who knocked down three Germans in one afternoon, now, is stationed with the R.A.F. in Calcutta. Stanford Tuck, who gained almost as much attention as Bader and Malan, spent two years as a prisoner of war, but now is back with old Group 11. How the few hundred pilots contrived to give the Luftwaffe the thrashing they did in the Battle of Britain is one of the miracles of the war.
The superior morale of the pilots, their skill, the fact that they were fighting over and for their very homes, the excellence of the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters, good organization in the control rooms and the invaluable secret of radar —all were factors contributing to victory.
It has been admitted officially that in July, 1940, the R.A.F. I Fighter Command had only 640 aircraft available daily for the battle. These were being supplemented at the rate of 130 new planes a week.
Terrible Toll of Life
This was little more than enough to make up for heavy losses. But it was the high toll among the best pilots, more than the loss of aircraft, that almost cost them the decision. In the four months from July to October, 1940, the fighter command lost 481 pilots killed, captured or missing plus 422 injured.
The turning point in the Battle of Britain came on that historic Sunday of September 15, 1940, when a gallant little band of dog-tired Pilots, outnumbered ten to one, went up for a desperate last-ditch stand and shot down 185 German Planes in a nightmare battle which lasted all day over London and southeast England. The pilots fought in relays that day, each coming down only long enough for a cup of tea and for refueling his plane.

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CITY Of LONDON PLAYS BIG PART IN WAR PROGRAM

Population Said Swelled By 20,000—Industry Grows Apace
HAS GREAT RECORD
London, Ont., June 29, 1943 —(CP)— An estimated 20,000 persons—one in every four here—have moved to London during the past three years, a shifting population being war's most visible mark in this city. A further 14,000 left the city during the same period for service with the armed forces.
At least half a dozen Londoners have gained the Distinguished Flying Cross for service against the enemy and scores of others have received efficiency medals and citations of one kind or another. Those awarded the D.F.C. were Flt.-Lt. Robert R. Smith, Wing-Cmdr. D. A. R. Bradshaw, Wing-Cmdr. Keith Louis Hodson, Flt.-Lt. John Ingamells, Flt.-Lt. R. D. Grassick and Flt. - Lt. Bradley Walker.
An additional half-dozen from the city have been awarded the Order of the British Empire.

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Specifically listed in AFRO 1292/41 dated 7 November 1941 as a Canadian in the RAF who had been decorated as of that date. Air Ministry Bulletin 4508 refers.

GRASSICK, F/L Robert Davidson (41579) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.242 Squadron
Awarded as per London Gazette dated 15 July 1941.

This officer has been a member of the squadron since its formation. He has displayed an indomitable spirit and has proved himself to be a first-class section leader. Flight Lieutenant Grassick has destroyed at least six enemy aircraft.

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--- Canadian Aces ---

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