In Remembrance of Leslie David Cornish

Leslie enlisted in The RCAF in 1940, in Saskatoon, at the age of 21. He loved to tell the story that the Doctor in charge of their medicals said, when he saw his multicolored hand painted tie and mismatched shirt, “Make sure you check that young man for color blindness!”.

After enlisting, Leslie trained as a mechanic in Toronto and in early 1941 he was sent overseas, as part of the 419 ‘Moose Squadron’, to the RAF Bomber Command Station at Middleton St. George, County Durham. The station’s motto was Shield and Deter. It was later allocated solely to the RCAF.

During the war the squadron members attended many dances in Norton and Darlington, County Durham. It was at a dance that he met Peggy Hall. He told his children often that he knew from the moment he first saw her he would marry her! He courted her steadily, riding eleven miles back and forth from camp on his bike into Norton to see her. They were married in 1945, following the end of the war. He was then sent back to Canada and his bride could only follow a long eight months later, with many other War Brides. They settled for a short time in Demaine, SK. to help on the family farm and then moved to Smiley SK. where Leslie farmed, and later owned and operated Smiley John Deere Farm Supply. He closed the business in the 1960’s and continued farming until the 1970’s. The family moved to Kindersley in 1964 where they resided until 1995. Peggy and Leslie then moved to Saskatoon to be closer to their children. They resided there until their end of life.

For over 50 years, following the end of the war, the Saskatchewan members of the ‘Moose Squadron’ met for annual reunions, which included all their families. Their bond from their shared experiences of the war was incredible, and lasted life times!