February 16, 2026. During WWII, the Stordy family of Brookvale, Prince Edward Island, lost  two sons:  first, John ‘Lawrence’ STORDY, who is buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Kleve, Germany, and then, shortly after the war in Europe ended, Michael ‘Cecil’ STORDY, who is buried in Kelly’s Cross (St. Joseph) Parish Cemetery in Kelly’s Cross, Prince Edward Island.

….Two brothers gave their lives in WWII…

In Part 1 of this two-part series, we began with Cecil’s story, as the Stordy family became known to Pieter when he was assigned Cecil’s grave after he became a volunteer under the National Volunteer Program for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).  (See https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2026/02/11/on-the-war-memorial-trailthe-stordy-brothers-part-1-the-wwii-soldier-from-brookvale-who-drowned-during-a-swimming-exercise-in-nova-scotia/) 

Now, in Part 2, we tell the story of John ‘Lawrence’ STORDY, who lost his life in Germany on April 27, 1943, aged 22,  two years earlier than his younger brother Cecil.

….Lawrence enlisted in the RCAF in July 1941 …

Born May 31, 1921 in Brookvale, Prince Edward Island, Lawrence was the son of John ‘Anthony’ and Mary ‘Ermina’ (nee Duffy) Stordy.  When he enlisted at the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Recruiting Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 17, 1941, he stated that he had completed Grade 10 and was employed at Schwartz & Sons.  Before that he had worked as a farm labourer for D. D. MacDonald on Prince Edward Island for 4 months, then on a dairy farm for B. Baxter in Truro, Nova Scotia.

In 1940, he left the dairy farm for a better job with Nova Scotia Light and Power in Halifax, Nova Scotia, remaining there until he was laid off in 1941, after which he went to work for Schwartz & Sons, a spice and food company, as an assistant shipper.  

Asked what special qualifications or hobbies would be useful to the RCAF, he wrote down that he knew how to fish, hunt, and skate, and occasionally played baseball.

After taking his basic training in Halifax, Lawrence was sent to No. 4 Air Manning Section (AMS) in Valcartier, Quebec on September 13, 1941 and to No. 5 Manning Depot in Lachine, Quebec.  Manning Depots were reception and training centres for new RCAF recruits, serving as the initial entry point for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). Recruits received uniforms, 4–5 weeks of basic military training, drills, and aptitude testing.  Upon completion, trainees were designated as ‘aircraftsmen 2’ and moved on to further specialized training schools.

Lawrence remained there until March 29, 1942, when he was sent to No. 1 Wireless School (WS) in Montreal, Quebec.  This BCATP facility for training wireless air gunners was located in the former Nazareth School for the Blind. On April 30, 1942, he was designated as Leading Aircraftman (LAC).

On June 7, 1942 he went to Composite Training School (KTS) in Trenton, Ontario for a four-week course in astro-navigation.

On July 5, 1942 he was sent to No. 9 Bombing and Gunnery (B&G) School in Mont-Joli, Quebec, where he received instruction in the techniques of bomb aiming and aerial machine gunnery.  Bombing and Gunnery schools required a large area to accommodate their bombing and gunnery ranges, and were often located near water. The Avro Anson, Fairey Battle, Bristol Bolingbroke, and Westland Lysander were the standard aircraft used.

While at No. 9 B&G, Lawrence was awarded his Air Gunner’s badge on August 14, 1942, and a promotion to T1 Sergeant.  (The ‘T’ stands for Technician.) His Commanding Officer at the School noted that he was “…a hard worker and applied himself diligently…”

On September 11, 1942, he was sent to No. 34 Operational Training Unit (OTU) in Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick.  An OTU was the last stop for aircrew trainees before going overseas. 

….Lawrence left Canada for overseas service …

Lawrence was only in Pennfield Ridge for a few days before being transferred to the RCAF’s No. 1 ‘Y’ Embarkation Depot in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  (See https://rcaf.info/rcaf-stations/nova-scotia-rcaf-stations/rcaf-station-halifax/)

Things moved quickly after that, as on September 24, 1942, Lawrence was placed in the Royal Air Force (RAF) Trainee Pool and arrived at No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC) in Bournemouth, England on October 9, 1942. This was the arrival point for thousands of Commonwealth aircrew after training in Canada. 

Lawrence would have been at No. 3 PRC at the same time as Donald David MacKenzie TAYLOR, who arrived there two days earlier, and whose story was previously told.  (See https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2025/12/27/on-the-war-memorial-trail-the-wwii-soldier-born-in-manitoba-who-lost-his-life-when-lst-420-hit-a-mine-in-the-harbour-outside-ostend/)

….Lawrence joined No. 405 Pathfinder Squadron…

On October 28, 1942, he was transferred to No. 405’s 1659 Conversion Fleet, the main training unit for No. 405 (Vancouver) Squadron, and based at RAF Leeming and Topcliffe in Yorkshire.  No. 405 was the only RCAF Pathfinder Squadron. Formed in April 1941, No. 405 had flown Wellingtons until April 1942, when it converted to Halifax bombers, and prepared crews for the Handley Page Halifax bomber.

Pathfinder Squadrons were target-marking squadrons that flew ahead of the main bombing crews to mark targets with slow falling, colour-coded parachute flares and very bright photo flash bombs that were on the centre of the target.  This helped bombing crews to increase the accuracy of their bombing.

Pathfinders didn’t immediately leave, but stayed around the target, to keep dropping markers on target, to keep second and third waves of bombers from ‘target creep’.  RAF and RCAF bombers were strung out like cars on the interstate, one behind the other, NOT in formation. Each individual aircraft had to navigate, get to the target, drop their bombs, and return to base – in the dark.  Pathfinders would remain until after the bombers had left to take photos of the damage inflicted.

On January 15, 1943, his training completed, Lawrence was assigned to No. 405 Squadron, based at RAF Beaulieu in Hampshire. At the time he joined, No. 405 had been detached to Coastal Command since October 1942. Coastal Command’s role was defensive, mainly protecting convoys from German U-boats.  (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Coastal_Command_during_World_War_II)

On March 1, 1943, No. 405 Squadron was reassigned back to Bomber Command as part of No. 6 (RCAF) Group, selected to be part of No. 8 Pathfinder Group on March 18, 1943, and based at RAF Gransden Lodge, located 16.3 km (10.1 miles) west of Cambridge, England. They were to be participants in a bombing campaign in the industrial heart of Germany.

….No. 405 Squadron was involved in the Battle of the Ruhr…

The Battle of the Ruhr was a strategic bombing campaign carried out by Bomber Command against the Ruhr Valley Area in Germany from March 5 to July 31, 1943.  Why Ruhr? Responsible for 60% of Germany’s industrial output, it was the main centre of German heavy industry with coke plants, steelworks, armaments factories and ten synthetic oil plants. (Coke is a coal-based fuel with a high carbon content, used mainly in the smelting of iron ore, steelworks, armaments factories and ten synthetic oil plants.)  (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ruhr and https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2429/battle-of-the-ruhr/)

The Ruhr Valley was protected by about 200 flak batteries, each consisting of six or eight 88-mm (3.5 in) guns, many with radar capability. Some guns were even mounted on trains to follow the bombers. Due to this dense network of anti-aircraft guns and countless searchlights, Allied bombers soon gave the Ruhr the ironic nickname of ‘Happy Valley’.

In addition to anti-aircraft guns, smog was a big problem.  The Ruhr Valley was so heavily industrialized that constant smog in the skies above it not only impeded the bomb aimers, but also made it difficult for the navigators to find their target areas.

….The last flight of Halifax JB-920…

On the night of April 26 into 27, 1943, Bomber Command sent 561 bombers (215 Lancasters, 135 Wellingtons, 119 Halifaxes, 78 Stirlings, 14 Mosquitos) to Duisburg, Germany.  Duisburg had important railway yards, which connected the Ruhr to other parts of Germany, and the Thyssen steelworks.

In total, 17 planes were lost that night – 7 Halifaxes, 5 Wellingtons, 3 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings. German records show 130–207 people killed, 300 buildings destroyed and six other cities hit by bombs.

This operation was No. 405 Squadron’s first operation as a Pathfinder unit. Out of 11 Halifax aircraft dispatched, 1 was lost – Halifax JB-920.  Hit by German light and heavy flak, it was shot down as it approached the target area of Duisburg, and crashed in Walsum, 11 km (6.8 miles) north northwest of Duisburg. All eight crew members were killed, including Lawrence, who was one of the two air gunners on that flight.

….The other crew members on the last flight of Halifax JB-920…

On the last flight of Halifax JB-920, in addition to Flight Sgt John ‘Lawrence’ STORDY, the other crew members were:

• Pilot : Pilot Officer David Edward CROCKATT of Vancouver, British Columbia
• 2nd Pilot : RCAF Pilot Officer Chester Brockie DIXON of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan
• Flight Engineer : RCAF Sergeant Isaac Abraham PENNER of Nipawin, Saskatchewan
• Navigator : RCAF Pilot Officer John Robert MARRIOTT of Ottawa, Ontario
• Navigator : RCAF Warrant Officer Class II Stewart SLEETH of Detroit, Michigan, USA
• Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : RAF Pilot Officer Francis Edward O’HARE of the United Kingdom
• Air Gunner : RCAF Warrant Officer Class II Thomas Lloyd BENTLEY of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

….Lawrence is buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Kleve…

The airmen were temporarily buried at North Cemetery in Dusseldorf, Germany, before being reburied in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Kleve, Germany.

I had wondered why the men were reburied in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, another cemetery in Germany, instead of in The Netherlands. Yannic Wethly, a volunteer with the Air Drenthe Research Foundation (Stichting Luchtoorlog Onderzoek Drenthe),  explained that “….almost all  RAF/RCAF/RAAF etc personnel who died in the German provinces that border to The Netherlands were reburied at Reichswald Forest. This explains the vast geospatial spread in the crash locations, and also why there are more than 7500 graves there….”

Patti W Noonan, daughter-in-law of the late Bernadette ‘Bernie’ Stordy Noonan, the youngest sister of Cecil and Lawrence, wrote us that “….the family is very proud of the sacrifice by Lawrence and Cecil…” and rightly so.

Thank you to Wendy Nattress, who prepared the map showing the flight path for Halifax JB-920.

This concludes the 2 part series on the Stordy Brothers. Do you have a story to tell? Email Pieter at memorialtrail@gmail.com or comment on the blog. 

© Daria Valkenburg

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