(reprinted from the 1 September 1999 issue of The Voxair, Winnipeg, Manitoba)
In a previous issue, the significance of the George Cross was described. This issue we look at the recipients and the acts for which they were recognized. The danger inherent in their actions can be seen in the fact that three of the five died while trying to save their comrades.
Aircraftman 1st Class Ernest Ralph Clyde Frost, GC, CD
Aircraftman Frost was born in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. After finishing high school, he worked at a number of menial jobs, before deciding to go to England. He reached England in 1938 by working on a tramp steamer. On arrival, he promptly joined the Royal Air Force. On 12 March 1940, while service with 90 Squadron, RAF, at West Raynham, AC I Frost observed two Bristol Blenheim aircraft collide. Despite the flames, he and Leading Aircraftman Campion entered one of the burning aircraft. AC Frost checked the fuselage to find that there were no other occupants. He then helped LAC Campion remove the trapped pilot. This they managed to do just as the fuel tanks exploded. For their actions, both AC I Frost and LAC Campion were awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal. This was converted to the George Cross when this award was instituted. AC I Frost received his George Cross on 21 October 1940. After the war, AC 1 Frost joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. He retired in December 1964 as a Squadron Leader (Major). He then served as chief pilot for Great Lakes Airlines, now Air Ontario.
Air Commodore Arthur Dwight Ross, GC, CBE, CD
A native of Winnipeg, A/C Ross entered Royal Military College in 1925. Upon graduation, he received a commission in the Royal Canadian Air Force, service in Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa. At the start of the Second World War, he was involved in anti-submarine operations on the East Coast, then served in Calgary at a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan school. In November 1942, A/C Ross went to Britain, later assuming command of No. 62 Base, Linton-on-Ouse, in February 1944. On the night of 28 June 1944, A/C Ross was watching bombers of his Base returning from a raid. A damaged Halifax bomber crashed into a fully loaded bomber on the ground. A large fire started, with bombs exploding in the midst of the chaos. A/C Ross led the rescue effort. Shrapnel from an exploding bomb nearly severed his right arm, resulting later in its amputation. For his heroic actions, A/C Ross was awarded the George Cross, the highest ranking officer ever to receive this honour. After the war, A/C Ross continued to serve with distinction in the Royal Canadian Air Force, commanding several major Commands. He retired in February 1961.
Leading Aircraftman Karl Mander Gravell, GC
Leading aircraftman Gravell was born in Sweden but moved to Canada with his family in 1936. He was always fascinated by aircraft, so when he was old enough, he enlisted in the RCAF. On 10 November 1941 LAC Gravell was a passenger in a Tiger Moth which crashed into a schoolyard near Calgary. He managed to free himself from the burning wreckage. Despite the loss of one eye, severe burns and his clothing being on fire, Gravell returned to the aircraft to free the pilot, not knowing that he had been killed instantly in the crash. Only when a school teacher. Mrs. R. Walsh pulled him from the wreckage and forcibly rolled him on the ground to put out his burning clothes, did Gravell stop his res-cue attempt. Sadly, he died of his burns several days later. In his honour, a creek in southern British Columbia was renamed Gravell Creek. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross on 11 June 1942.
Leading Aircraftman Kenneth Gerald Spooner, GC
Leading Aircraftman Spooner was born in Smith Falls, Ontario. He worked in the public service as a clerk and then as a rodman for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on 31 July 1942, subsequently undergoing training as a navigator at No. 4 Air Observer School, London, Ontario. During the early evening of 14 May 1943, LAC Spooner was a student navigator in an Avro Anson on a training Hight. When the pilot suddenly fainted and the aircraft started to rapidly descend, Spooner took control of the aircraft, although he had no experience in handling or flying a plane. Three crew members parachuted to safety. LAC Spooner. the pilot, Sergeant D.A. Nelson, and one instructor, Sergeant W.J. Brown, died when the aircraft crashed, about one hour after the pilot passed out. Leading Aircraftman Spooner was posthumously awarded the George Cross on 7 January 1944.
Flying Officer Roderick Borden Gray, GC
Flying Officer Gray was born in Sault Ste. Marie. He originally joined the Canadian army in June 1940, but transferred, in October 1941, to the Royal Canadian Air Force. Three of his brothers also served in the Canadian Forces during the war. F/O Gray conducted part of his training in Winnipeg, at No. 1 Air Observer School. In October 1942, having just returned from his honeymoon, F/O Gray was sent overseas where he served as a navigator of a’ Vickers Armstrong Wellington with No. 172 Squadron, Royal Air Force Coastal Command. On the night of 27 August 1944, F/O Gray’s aircraft attacked a surfaced U-boat in the Bay of Biscay. The U-boat’s anti-aircraft fire was so severe that the Wellington crashed in the ocean. Despite a broken leg, F/O Gray rescued two of his comrades, placing them in the lone inflatable dinghy that had survived the crash. Although his friends pleaded with him to get into the dinghy, F/O Gray refused, realizing the dinghy was already overloaded. He died of his wounds and the icy Atlantic waters before the group could be rescued. Flying Officer Gray was posthumously awarded the George Cross on 13 March 1945.