Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Memorial – Pilot Officer Robert Arthur Leman is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Memorial – Pilot Officer Robert Arthur Leman is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Memorial – Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Identification – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Photo of Robert Arthur Leman – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Photo of Robert Arthur Leman – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Service Book – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Correspondence – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Correspondence – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

The Nanton Cenotaph – In 1926 Albert J. Hart was commissioned to create a memorial to honour the memory of those Nanton and District citizens who were killed in action during World War I. The 6.5¿¿ high statue is of Carara Italian marble and features a soldier at rest, with arms reversed in the position that would have been assumed at the burial of a comrade. It rests on a pedestal of B.C. granite. Plaques list the names of those who did not return from both wars. As well, there is a plaque honouring those who served in the Korean War. The location originally chosen for the cenotaph was next to the sidewalk that linked Shaw Street, Nanton's main street, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Station. This was most appropriate as the railway was well used at the time and hundreds of residents and visitors alike would pass the silent soldier during a day. The cenotaph was unveiled August 13, 1927 by the Earl of Haddington. Mayor J.T. Cooper presided over the ceremonies and R.B. Bennett, who would go on to become the Prime Minister of Canada, gave the principal address. Annual Remembrance Day Services have been held at the cenotaph ever since. With the closure of the railway station and the transformation of Railway Avenue into a major highway, the cenotaph's location became less and less appropriate during the latter half of the twentieth century. With the co-operation of Nanton's No. 80 Branch, Royal Canadian Legion, the Town of Nanton, and the Nanton Lancaster Society the cenotaph was carefully dismantled and the statue cleaned. It was then re-erected in Centennial Park at the entrance to the air museum in time for the 2001 Remembrance Day Service. www.lancastermuseum.ca

Photo of Robert Leman – The crew on aboard Halifax MZ589 was lost during an operation to Hamburg. Six Canadian airmen were lost, Joseph Collver, Robert Leman, Norman Bailey, Matthew MacFarlane, Norman Jermey and William Sorel.

Runnymeade Memorial – Photo of Runnymede Memorial (CWGC) Halifax aircraft MZ589 was one of 17 from 431 Squadron sent on a raid to Hamburg on July 28/29, 1944. A total of 186 Halifaxes and 46 Lancasters from RCAF Bomber Command 6 Group participated in the raid, which resulted in the heavy loss of 22 aircraft. Tragically 134 aircrew were killed, with 29 taken Prisoners of War. 431 Squadron suffered the heaviest loss: 5 crews with 28 airmen killed and 7 taken PoWs. The Pilot, F/O Jos. COLLVER from Fort William, ON, was only 19 yrs of age, as was Air gunner P/O Norman JERMEY from Orillia, Ont. The other crew were: P/O (WAG) Wm. G. SOREL, age 21, from Nakina, ON F/O (BA) Matthew MacFARLANE, age 21, from Vancouver. F/O (AG) Norman BAILEY, age 22, from Georgetown, ON. No trace of the aircraft and crew were found. Their names are inscribed on the Runnymede Memorial for those with no known grave. [Crew information from They Shall Grow Not Old, Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon, Manitoba; operation detail from www.rcaf.com/6group]