Lest We Forget - Pilot Officer Douglas Waldo Peers

Joining the Royal Canadian Air Force must have seemed like a dream for Pilot Officer Douglas Waldo Peers.  Hailing from the beautiful seaside village of Wallace Bay, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, he was a descendant of my two fifth great grandfathers - United Empire Loyalists, Alexander Peers and Daniel Teed.  His parents were James Lalacheure Peers and Nina May Ellis and he had three brothers and two step brothers from his father's first marriage.  He was my 4th cousin, once removed.

He was about 21 years old when he enlisted and shortly thereafter, he married Ada Elsie Brander of Middle Musquodoboit in Colchester County.  Doug was posted overseas almost immediately but not before Ada discovered she was expecting.

During his first year overseas he became father to a lovely little baby girl, Elaine.  A little girl he never knew.

Pilot Officer Douglas
Waldo Peers

In the early summer of 1944, Doug was seconded to 101 Squadron, RAF which was part of Bomber Command.  He trained as an Air Bomber and soon joined the crew of Flight Lieutenant Marwood Tucker and his Lancaster Bomber. Their first mission was over Gelsenkirchen and it was a success.  The next two missions were over Evreaux in Normandy and Reims in the Champagne-Ardennes in France were also well executed and successful.

On the night of August 13, 1944 the crew's target was Braunschweig/Brunswick but before they could reach the place, their plane was shot down by a night fighter and crashed near the village of Brockum, Germany.  Douglas Waldo Peers did not survive the crash.  He was buried in the Hanover War Cemetery in Germany.