MP calls for Canada to honour pilot who died in flight over England
Pilot Officer William McMullen was captaining a training flight in a Lancaster Bomber on January 13 1945 when the plane caught fire above Darlington.
An MP has called for Canada to honour a Second World War pilot who sacrificed his life to save “potentially thousands of civilians he never knew” in an English town.
Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot Officer William McMullen, 29, was stationed at RAF Middleton St George, now Teesside Airport, during the war.
He was captaining a training flight in a Lancaster Bomber on January 13 1945 when the plane caught fire above Darlington, Co Durham.
He ordered his six crew members to parachute themselves out safely and remained at the controls to steer the aircraft away from the town of 60,000 people, directing it towards an empty field.
Pilot Officer McMullen, from Scarborough, Ontario, was the only person to die in the crash.
Darlington MP Lola McEvoy has written to the Directorate of Honours and Recognition in Ottawa, Canada, asking the Canadian government to consider him for a posthumous bravery medal.
The Labour MP wrote: “I believe that his heroism has not received the recognition it deserves for many years, and I am respectfully proposing that he be considered for a posthumous honour for his remarkable heroism.
“His selfless actions spared the lives of potentially thousands of civilians he never knew and exemplify the highest standards of courage and duty.”
Ms McEvoy has also called for a statue to be erected in his memory in the centre of Darlington.
The Darlington MP told the PA news agency: “I think when you hear about the bravery of this man and the bravery of that generation in World War Two, it feels very close to people in Darlington and it’s incredibly moving to hear what he did for our town.
“But it’s also really important for the next generation and for young people growing up in the town to know the legacy, so great stories like this inspire the next generation.”
Loring Barber, the pilot’s grandson, said: “He saved the town. He saved his crew. Everybody is happy but him.
“How can you not honour him?”
Pilot Officer McMullen’s only daughter, Donna Barber, has liver cancer and, at 86, her children worry she may not live long enough to see her father recognised.
“She would definitely like to see it. She’s probably not going to get the amount of time she’s going to need,” Mr Barber said in an interview with The Canadian Press at his home in Toronto.
Veterans Affairs Canada said in a statement to The Canadian Press that Pilot Officer McMullen was awarded several medals for his service, including the 1939-45 Star, the France and German Star, the Defence Medal and the War Medal.
It added that King George VI decreed in 1950 that consideration would not be given for acts performed more than five years before nomination, thereby putting an end to Second World War nominations.
Veterans Affairs Canada said: “This principle has generally been applied since, in considering honours policy issues, proposals for new honours and individual nominations for honours.
“McMullen was not nominated during this timeframe.”
They said the five-year limit is still in place “to ensure that events are judged by the standards of the time, and that they are measured along with contemporary examples, and to ensure that previous decisions are not second-guessed and history is not reinterpreted.”
Pilot Officer McMullen’s mother and widow were awarded the Memorial Cross in May 1945, they added.
In the aftermath of the crash funds were raised to support his family, but his widow, Thelma McMullen, declined the donation and suggested it be used to benefit the local community as it coped with the war.
Funds were used to endow two children’s cots at Darlington Memorial Hospital, marked with a plaque honouring the “Gallant Airman”, a tribute that still exists today.
A road near the crash site was also renamed McMullen Road in his honour, and a memorial stone was erected at the junction of McMullen Road and Allington Way.
Residents in Darlington gather at the memorial to pay their respects each year on the anniversary of his death. A special service was held on the 80th anniversary earlier this year.
Canada played a significant role as part of the Allied forces that liberated Europe during the Second World War.
About 1,159,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders served during the conflict. Canadian government data shows 44,090 of them died, including 17,397 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
