Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of John and Constance May Wilson, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. B. Comm. (British Columbia).
Digital gallery of Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
Inscription on the Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
Stone of Remembrance, Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
Panels, Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
Entrance, Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
This memorial window at Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, BC. is dedicated in memory of Air Force Pilot Robert Alfred Wilson who was 23 when he died somewhere over the Bay of Biscay, off the north coast of Spain and the west coast of France. His memory is expressed here in the image of a soldier in the service of Christ, fighting powers of evil, and clothed in God's armour: the helmet of salvation, the mail coat of integrity, the leather buckler of truth and the sword of the spirit. On the banner is the Royal Canadian Air Force motto: PER ARDUA AS ASTRA, "Through hardships to the stars."
PER ARDUA
AD ASTRA
I WILL GIVE THEE A CROWN OF LIFE.
IN MEMORY OF
FO ROBERT ALFRED WILSON. R.C.A.F.
MISSING OVER THE BAY OF BISCAY 15TH AUG. 1943. AGE 23
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
In memory of the students from the University of British Columbia who went to war and did not return. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
From a World War 2 issue of the Vancouver Province c.1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Alfred Wilson
From a World War 2 issue of the Vancouver Province c. 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Image gallery
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Inscription on the Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Stone of Remembrance, Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Panels, Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Entrance, Runnymede Memorial. Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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This memorial window at Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, BC. is dedicated in memory of Air Force Pilot Robert Alfred Wilson who was 23 when he died somewhere over the Bay of Biscay, off the north coast of Spain and the west coast of France. His memory is expressed here in the image of a soldier in the service of Christ, fighting powers of evil, and clothed in God's armour: the helmet of salvation, the mail coat of integrity, the leather buckler of truth and the sword of the spirit. On the banner is the Royal Canadian Air Force motto: PER ARDUA AS ASTRA, "Through hardships to the stars." PER ARDUA AD ASTRA I WILL GIVE THEE A CROWN OF LIFE. IN MEMORY OF FO ROBERT ALFRED WILSON. R.C.A.F. MISSING OVER THE BAY OF BISCAY 15TH AUG. 1943. AGE 23
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In memory of the students from the University of British Columbia who went to war and did not return. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
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From a World War 2 issue of the Vancouver Province c.1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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From a World War 2 issue of the Vancouver Province c. 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 227 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL Surrey, United Kingdom
During the Second World War more than 116,000 men and women of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth gave their lives in service. More than 17,000 of these were members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, or Canadians serving with the Royal Air Force. Approximately one-third of all who died have no known grave. Of these, 20,450 are commemorated by name on the Runnymede Memorial, which is situated at Englefield Green, near Egham, 32 kilometers by road west of London.
The design of the Runnymede Memorial is original and striking. On the crest of Cooper's Hill, overlooking the Thames, a square tower dominates a cloister, in the centre of which rests the Stone of Remembrance. The cloistered walks terminate in two lookouts, one facing towards Windsor, and the other towards London Airport at Heathrow. The names of the dead are inscribed on the stone reveals of the narrow windows in the cloisters and the lookouts. They include those of 3,050 Canadian airmen. Above the three-arched entrance to the cloister is a great stone eagle with the Royal Air Force motto, Per Ardua ad Astra". On each side is the inscription:
IN THIS CLOISTER ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF TWENTY THOUSAND AIRMEN WHO HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE. THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM IN RAID AND SORTIE OVER THE BRITISH ISLES AND THE LANDS AND SEAS OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE
In the tower a vaulted shrine, which provides a quiet place for contemplation, contains illuminated verses by Paul H. Scott."
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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