Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Photo of William Peter McLeod

Group Photo – Members of two RCAF Liberator crews preparing for a shooting expedition in Ceylon in late May or early June 1945. Of the eight RCAF crewmen of Liberator KH326 who failed to return from an RAF 357 Squadron Special Duties operation on 6 June 1945 (supply drop to Force 136 operatives behind Japanese lines), three are seen here: J/12779 Flight Lieutenant Arie Frank TIMMERMANS: Captain of the aircraft (pilot). Age 28, son of Frank Joseph and Maude Gladys Timmermans of Blind River, Ontario; husband of Mary Constance Timmermans (nee Galashan), of Burlington, Ontario. He is the tall blonde standing & facing the camera. J/47871 Flying Officer William Peter MCLEOD: Wireless Op/Air Gunner. Age 23, from Claresholm, Alberta. He is standing to the left of Timmermans, looking to the right and wearing an officer’s cap. J/47869 Flying Officer George FAULKNER: Wireless Op/Air Gunner. Age 22, from Victoria, British Columbia. Looking down at a pistol in his hands, he is standing to the right of Timmermans. Sitting in the cab of the truck, with sunglasses is RCAF C.1490 S/Ldr O.A.H. “Haig” SIMS, pilot & Commanding Officer of the 357 Sqn detachment sent to Ceylon in late May ’45. In 1955, during the Malayan Emergency, the wreck of the Timmermans crew’s Liberator, KH326, was discovered in deep, rugged jungle by the Royal Scots Fusiliers while on a war patrol in search of Communist guerrillas. Although no human remains were found in a brief search, most of the supplies from 1945 were still intact in drop containers within the fuselage or scattered nearby, undisturbed since 6 June 1945. After a clearing was prepared by the Fusiliers, Royal Navy helicopters were used to remove many guns, ammo, and other supplies, to prevent them falling into the hands of the Communists after the patrol moved on. In 2010 the wreckage was finally rediscovered.

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