152 and counting

The British North American Act, enacted March 29, 1867 by the British Parliament, provided for Confederation of the three British North American colonies, Canada (Upper and Lower), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Now much amended as the Constitution Act, 1867, it was proclaimed into law on July 1, 1867 and Canada was born. The first official birthday celebration was in 1868, July 1 being named Dominion Day in 1879 and Canada Day in 1982.

My last two posts discussed Canadian paperbacks in WWII.

Here is one of the 1,159,000 men and women from Canada and Newfoundland who served in that war. This is his record on the Library and Archives Canada website.

Surname:

METIVIER

Given Name(s):

HARRY ALFRED

Date of Birth:

1919-12-05

Date of Death:

1945-03-31

Rank:

Flight Lieutenant

Unit:

Royal Canadian Air Force

Force:

Air

Service Number:

J24761

F/L Metivier was my uncle. He was the pilot in Lancaster bomber number KB761 when it was shot down over the English Channel after one of the last bombing runs to Germany. He and his aircrew died five weeks before the end of the war.

The first picture is the April 1942 graduating "F" Flight class 46 in Hagersville, Ontario. My uncle is fourth from left in the middle row. The second picture is my uncle with his younger brother at their home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. I still have his uniform.

His log book has the last two entries in another hand, including March 31, 1945 "MISSING".