Two brothers from Smiley, Saskatchewan, die serving with RCAF in Second World War
Two brothers from Smiley, Saskatchewan, lost their lives serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.
Click for larger images
Pilot Officer George Edward Deatherage, 24, died December 17, 1944, when his Lancaster bomber crashed northeast of Ulm, Germany, during a night raid. Born August 22, 1920, at Battle Ridge, Alberta, he was the son of Roy Frederick “Fred” and Ida Pearl (nee Mulroney) Deatherage. George was raised in Smiley and completed his education at Smiley School in 1935. Before enlisting in Edmonton, Alta., on February 23, 1943, he worked as a truck driver for sawmills in Dawson Creek, B.C., and at Entwistle and Whitecourt, Alta.
Commissioned on October 30, 1944, he served as a Pilot Officer (Air Gunner) with No. 101 Squadron, part of Bomber Command’s No. 1 Group, operating Avro Lancaster aircraft from RAF Ludford Magna, England. George was the husband of Gladys May (nee Hadley) Deatherage and father of Marjorie Verna Deatherage. He is commemorated at Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany, on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, Alta., and on the Whitecourt Memorial, Alta. His honours include the 1939-1945 Star, France and Germany Star, Defence Medal, General Service Medal, and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp.
His younger brother, Sergeant Walter David Deatherage, 20, died September 10, 1942, after his Handley Page Hampden aircraft crashed near Marl, Germany, during a night raid on Düsseldorf. Walter was born September 7, 1922, at Hardisty, Alta., and also raised in Smiley. He completed his schooling there in 1939 and worked for the Whitecourt Lumber Company as a broad saw operator, also farming seasonally at Smiley, before enlisting at Saskatoon on December 5, 1941.
Walter served as an Air Gunner with No. 14 Operational Training Unit, part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which trained aircrew to operate Hampden aircraft from RAF Cottesmore, England, before posting to an operational squadron. He is commemorated at the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany, as well as on the Whitecourt Memorial and the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, Alta.
The Deatherage brothers are remembered for their courage and service, and their sacrifices remain honoured by the communities where they grew up and worked.