F/O. Harold Walter Saunders MID
Royal Canadian Air Force 435 (Chinthe) Squadron
from:Ayr, Ontario
My grandfather, Harold Saunders, flew with the 435 (Chinthe) Squadron from its inception in 1943 until the squadron was dispanded after the war. He was 18 when he enlisted in 1942 and learned to fly in Ontario and Manitoba. Originally he was trained on single engines destined to be a fighter pilot. This changed when he went to England in 1943. There was a shortage of twin engine pilots and he was asked if he would be interested in flying the twins. Initially, he was not sure if he wanted to change, but eventually decided that he would.
This took him to the Burma Campaign with the 435 & 436 Squadrons. Here, he flew the famous Dakota twin engine DC3 with the 435 squadron in support of the British 14th Army, also known as the Forgotten Army. He flew numerous missions during the remainder of the war. He flew with his best friend, Flying Officer William Kyle, whose plane went down in June of 1945 over the Burmese jungles. Following the loss of F/O Kyle's plane, my grandfather was involved in several search and rescue missions which earned him the MID oak leaf. In England, he met his wife, Joyce Manning who he would bring back to Canada following the war. When the war ended, he went to Queens University and became a civil engineer.
