John "Scruffy" Weir, one of the Canadian Warplane Heritage's co-founders has passed away at the age of 90. John died Monday September 21. Services will be held at UCC at 4:00 pm Thursday Sept 24. A reception will follow at the York Club. The family does not want visitors.
The CWH Lancaster and Chipmunk (C-FPOW) are scheduled to do a flypast over UCC at 5:15 pm.
From Veterans Affairs Canada:
Mr. Weir was born in Toronto on July 22, 1919. His father was DSO MC in the First World War, a colonel. He was machine gunner in the 19th Battalion, and was gassed at Vimy and suffered from then on with asthma. After seeing the horrific pictures of the trench warfare from his father's service, Mr. Weir decided to join the Air Force rather than serve in the trenches. He joined the service the day after war was declared and began his training in Winnipeg. He started off as a pilot officer-provisional but wanted to be a fighter pilot. During his service, Mr. Weir was shot down in Barth and captured. He was a prisoner in a Gestapo jail, and was involved in "The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III". He was moved to various prison camps and witnessed atrocities of the Holocaust. He eventually escaped on a forced-march from Bremerhaven to Lübbecke by bribing a German guard.
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Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
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