Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of Arthur Stapleton Piers and of Marguerite Helen Piers (nee Lodge), of Westmount, Province of Quebec, Canada.
Brother of Flying officer Arthur William Jarvis Piers, who died during service with the Royal Air Force.
Digital gallery of Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
William Piers with his grandmother circa 1940
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
William Piers hangin out with RCAF friends
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
Runnymede Memorial (CWGC)
Wellington W5516 of 405 Sqdn was airborne 1859 26 Feb 42 from Pocklington on a leaflet-dropping trip to Kiel, Germany. The aircraft was lost without trace. The crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. They were: W/C G. D. Macallister (2nd Pilot), who was 405 Sqdn Commander); Sgt F/S (WAG) E. C. Phillips; F/S (WAG) M. P. F. Robson; F/S (WAG) W.S. Piers; F/L J. A. Robson RAF; and F/S J. H. Dyson RAAF. [http://www.lostbombers.co.uk/bomber.php?id=4859]
From They Shall Grow not Old (Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon, Man.: The pilot of an accompanying aircraft reported severe icing conditions in the area.
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
Photo taken in Montreal on February 23, 1940. He would be killed in action 2 years and 3 days later.
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
From the Montreal Gazette. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
Inscription - Runnymede Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers is commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers is commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers
From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Image gallery
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William Piers with his grandmother circa 1940
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William Piers hangin out with RCAF friends
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Runnymede Memorial (CWGC) Wellington W5516 of 405 Sqdn was airborne 1859 26 Feb 42 from Pocklington on a leaflet-dropping trip to Kiel, Germany. The aircraft was lost without trace. The crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. They were: W/C G. D. Macallister (2nd Pilot), who was 405 Sqdn Commander); Sgt F/S (WAG) E. C. Phillips; F/S (WAG) M. P. F. Robson; F/S (WAG) W.S. Piers; F/L J. A. Robson RAF; and F/S J. H. Dyson RAAF. [http://www.lostbombers.co.uk/bomber.php?id=4859] From They Shall Grow not Old (Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon, Man.: The pilot of an accompanying aircraft reported severe icing conditions in the area.
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Photo taken in Montreal on February 23, 1940. He would be killed in action 2 years and 3 days later.
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From the Montreal Gazette. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
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Inscription - Runnymede Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers is commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Flight Sergeant William Stapleton Piers is commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
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From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 106 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.
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