As the days and hours march closer to Remembrance Day, I use my column to help remember. This week, we follow the career of Flying Officer Arthur Morlidge from Lloydminster, Sask.
It was cold on January 6, 1941, -19.6°C to be exact. This was the day Morlidge signed up for war in Edmonton. He had intentions of becoming a pilot in the RCAF. According to his service record, Morlidge was working as a clerk in a grocery store in Lloyd before registering.
He stood 5’8″ tall and was described as an athlete by the Royal Canadian Air Force Medical Review Board. He was deemed fit for flight service.
Percy Robert was the Scout Leader of Troop 227 in Lloydminster. After watching him grow up over his six years in the program, Robert had this to say about Morlidge in a letter of recommendation.
“When he became the leader of a patrol of eight boys, he showed marked leadership ability,” stated Robert. ”I am sure he can be trusted to carry out whatever orders are given to him in a capable manner, I have always found him trustworthy and honest.”
With less than one-hour of flying as a passenger to his name, he headed Regina on March 29, 1941 for initial flight training as a pilot. However, he did not do well in over 20 hours in the Tiger-Moth and was re-assigned to Air Observer Training in April of the same year.
He completed his schooling to become an AO, or Navigator, in 1941 and arrived in Europe in January 1942. Additionally, he received further training in a Vickers Wellington Bomber before being assigned to the RCAF 419 “Moose” Squadron on July 23.
Service in Europe:
Meanwhile, in a letter from home, his mother congratulated him on his participation as “one of the flying officers from western Canada” in a raid over the Ruhr Valley on Aug. 5, 1942.
Morlidge gave us insight into his sense of humour during a letter home dated Aug. 27.
“You didn’t sunburn the roof of your mouth looking up at the tall buildings did you?,” quipped Morlidge, referencing his parents “vacation” to Edmonton. “I guess it was quite a change and a pleasant one to get away from Lloyd and into a little life for a while.”
The Squadron flew upwards of 15-20 missions a month at that time. However, it is unknown how many raids Morlidge made before he was deployed on his final flight, Oct. 2, ’42.
He and Pilot Officer H.J. Stuart (Montreal), Flight Sergeant S.V. Stowe (Vancouver), Sergeant H.S. Sveinson (Dafoe, Sask.), Sergeant H.D. Price (Sherbrook, QC.) and Sergeant Norman Nelan (Greenfield Park, QC) were declared missing over enemy territory.
Additionally, a subsequent letter from the RCAF casualty officer dated July 6, 1944 contains the following first-hand account from Nelson, who survived.
“The aircraft was shot down over Holland on Oct. 2, 1942. The crew were ordered to bail out at 2,000 feet. Sgt. Nelson bailed first and when he was taken prisoner, the German authorities told him that Pilot Officer Morlidge had been found dead some miles from the crashed plane,” stated the letter.
“I realize this information can be of little solace to you and I can only hope the knowledge that your son gave his life in service of his country may bring comfort to you.”
His sister, Kathy Bowers, shared some further details regarding that event. She told me he wasn’t meant to go on that flight, but because his crew wanted to be home for Christmas. The successful mission was to destroy a Behr chemical plant in Germany. Her brothers crew was returning when they were shot down by a German night fighter pilot.
Something else she wanted to share was how hard the news was for her parents.
“When they got the initial notification, it’s says they are missing and presumed dead, but asked them to please not share this information until it can be confirmed,” said Bowers.
So her parents, living in small town Lloyd, couldn’t tell anyone who asked about Arthur coming home for Christmas.
The reason they were given was to protect against German spies, possibly in Lloyd. They could get information back to Germany about a bomber of seven crew shot down. If German soldiers hadn’t found any survivors, they would start looking for them. If they were being hidden by the Belgium underground, it could cost many more lives.
They waited for official word four weeks later before sharing the information with our tight knit community.
Morlidge never made it back to Canada. He is currently among 699 other known graves at Uden War Cemetery, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands. Lest we forget.
Read More: Opinion: Pte. Stephenson remembered – Meridian Source
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