Osborn, Roy Harris

F/L Roy Harris Osborn was among the first Brantfordites to enlist in the R.C.A.F., after the Commonwealth Air Training Plan was proposed and he was in the first group instructed at Brantford. His enlistment date was April 16, 1940, and at that time No. 5 S.F.T.S., which was to function here later was not completed and the young airmen trained at the Brant-Norfolk Aero Club and lived at their homes. After two months of this preliminary course, the trainees were sent to Uplands, where the Brantford airman received his wings and his commission, graduating fourth in his class in November, 1940. The next training centre for him was Rivers, where he qualified as an instructor, and was then moved to Summerside, P.E.I. His last Canadian station was at Aylmer, Ont., before he sailed for England in November, 1942. He became attached to the R.A.F. and his job was piloting Mosquitos. It was after one of these hazardous missions on March 31, 1944, that he was reported missing, and in July, 1945, it was officially learned by his family that he had been lost over Munster, Germany. Born in Brantford in 1918, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Osborn, he attended Bellview School and matriculated from the Collegiate Institute and Vocational School. He was a good athlete, playing on the Immanuel Baptist Church hockey and baseball teams. Before his enlistment, he was employed as a head shipper at the Cockshutt Plow Company, Limited. He is survived by his widow, and son, Brian.

Back to Search Results