Peers, Leslie Arthur Cole

 

Son of Katherine Edwards and Charles Arthur Cole. He was raised by Jeptha and Earlie Peers, of Chatham, Ontario, after his mother died 11 November, 1918 leaving behind five children.  The husband of Shirley Eileen Peers, of 31 Prince St., Chatham. He was well known in Chatham sporting circles prior to the war.   

Leslie enlisted in the RCAF  in May of 1941 and trained at Windsor, Trenton, Mount Hope  before his graduation. It was reported in the CDN 16/02/42, that Sergt. – Pilot Peers who received his “Wings” at No. 16 RCAF training station, Hagerville, and Windsor ON., on 9 January 1942 had safely arrived in England. Sgt.(P) R98316 was reported seriously burned a result of air operations near Horton, England in 1942, according to information received by his wife. In a CDN 11/12/42 “according to word received by his wife, Sgt. Peers is receiving expert treatment and doing very well. 

The CDN 2/05/44 reported that P/O. L. A. Peers had receive his commission in England in April of 1943, he was a Sergeant-pilot before his promotion; he was posted to duties in North Africa 

He was posted to North Africa in May of 1944 and was reported ‘missing’ in July as a result of special operations against the enemy.’

The CDN 15/08/44 reported that Mrs. Shirley Eileen Peers wife of P.O.Peers received word that her husband was reported as MIA since 14 July after air operations. No other details were provide 

The CDN 20/10/44 reported Leslie Arthur Peers age 27 is “believed killed” according to information received from the Casualty Officer – Ottawa. The ‘Fighting French of the Interior had lost his life and was buried at Nistos, nearTabes, France. 

KIA – Date of Death: 14/07/1944.

In Halifax bomber # JN 8884 on secret Special Air Ops to supply French resistance fighters 3201 Co. Camagne,(FTPF – Franc Tireur Patisan de France). P/O Peers left Algiers at 22:25 on 13/07/1944 flying over the Mediterranean to the Nistos Valley.

The FTPF group of some 170 men and women operating in the Hautes area of the Pyrenees mountains were desperately short of supplies, medical and military which promoted P/O Peers to circle the area a number of times in heavy fog to drop the supplies where they would be picked up by the Resistance fighters.

On the last pass the Halifax clipped some Beech trees causing it to crash in the Pic du Douly at an elevation of 1,400 meters. The aircraft crashed 62 miles SW of Toulouse, France at Nistos valley, Hautes, Pyrenee Mountains.   The wreckage was found by 15 members of the FTPF 3201Co. and after several hour of hard work they had freed the crews bodies (Six of the crew members, were not Canadian) from the wreckage. The collected all of the crews identity discs and other personal information, they then buried the seven bodies in the containers used to ship their supplies and weapons in.

Wing Commander Stanbury in a letter to his widow stated “your husband was with his unit for a short one only, but during this time he did extremely well. I had high hopes of him in the future.

That he should be lost so soon is a blow to all of us. Your husband was an efficient, cool, courageous operated pilot and captain and was held in esteem.”   

The men and women of the area made it their responsibility to protect the bodies and the crash site, some loosing their lives to the investigating Germans.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead, Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 252.

Memorial: RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL, PIC du DOULY CWG Cemetery.

This is the last known picture of Leslie Arthur Peers (centre) and his crew.

The story of P/O Peers an his crew of Halifax JN 8884 might have ended with their crash on that foggy night in July of 1944 or with the inscription of their names on the Runneymede Memorial had it not been for Alain Gaudet happeneing on the Nistros Valley in 1998.

A former member of Canada’s 1^st Airborne Commando from 1973 to 76 and having lived in Fance for some twenty years he happened to have stopped for gas and came across a cairn with a long list of names of Resistance Fighters, men and women as well young teenagers killed by the Nazi during WWII. The station attendedent realizing Gaudet was a Canadian told him about the Halifax bomber that had crashed nearby and he thought there were Canadians aboard the plane.

From that encounter he met Jean Bordes, a Resistance fighter from 3201 Co. who showed him a 1994 vdeo of the people of Nistos climbing the mountain to build a cemetery at the crash site for the crew of JN 8884, the worlds smallest, highest and most difficult military cemetery to access. The residents of Nistos, three days after the crash, made their way up the mountain to pay tribute to the men who helped them in their fight against the Nazi invaders. Gaudet was the first Canadian to visit the site. “When I got up there I bursy into tears, because nobody from Canada had been there.” He knew this was not a normal cemetery, “These folks had actually adopted Peers and his crew, because they participated in their and the resistance.”

It was Gaudet’s mission to see to it that he was not the only Canadian to visit the grave site. In July of 1999 an number of P/O Peers family made a pilgrimage to the crash site along with Alain Gaudet to pay their respects to the fallen airman and his crew at the cemetery in Pyreneese Mountains. A tribute to the valor of the crew of JN8884 was presented to them, a battle flag of 3201Co. FTPF the only Freanch battle flag given with permission to leave France to the Royal Canadian Legion – Branch 28 in Chatham.

Index of Overseas Deaths. They Shall Grow Not Old, IODE(P), VR(P) StAUCR-H, CVWM, M. Cole niece-in-law, CDN 9/11 & 11/11/13 (Ellwood Shreve).

The  resting place of the crew of Halifax bomber JN 8884

P/O Leslie Arthur PEERS.

The 1999 visit was not the last contact with P/O Peers resting place and his hometown. In July of 2014, a contingent from Chatham-Kent attended the Hautes Pyrenees area to attend a special ceremony to honour P/O Peers and the other six British airmen who died while trying to resupply the French and Spanish resistance fighters in 1944.

Those attending from Chatham-Kent were: Chatham-Kent Essex MP Dave Van Kesteren, Chatham-Kent Chief of Police Dennis Poole, constables Andrew Jaconelli and Nicole Kadour, Major John Hodgins Acting Commander of the Essex & Kent Scottish, Piper John Arsenault E &K Scottish and piper Walter Tomaszewski of Branch 28 Legion.

The ceremony was held at the Pic du Douly Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. Constable Jaconelli, who had also served in the “Reserves” for 21 years summed up his experience as was reported in the CDN 26/07/14: “I never experience such pride” as standing at the mountaintop grave of a pilot from Chatham who gave his life helping to save French resistance fighters, and hearing O Canada played. It was a very emotional moment with a crowd of 350 in attendance.” [Elwood Shreve – Sunmedia]

Another moving ceremony was held at which the colours (flag) of the French Resistance 3201 Co. was presented to the Chatham-Kent delegation.

 

 

 

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