John Scott MacIntyre

John Scott Macintyre was born in Owen Sound, Ontario, on September 27, 1922. He lived at 181 Fourth avenue. His mother was Marjorie Macintyre and his father was Duncan Macintyre. Frank and Jane Macintyre were his siblings. He had brown eyes, black hair, and was 5 ft 8 inches tall. His supervisors described him as a hard worker, dependable, enthusiastic, capable, responsible, and polite. John’s records made it very clear that he was an amazing person who was ready to risk his life for his country at such a young age. He also enjoyed many sports such as skiing, sailing, swimming, rugby, football, hockey, and track. While he attended Glebe, he was part of the senior football team. His hobbies included aviation, dancing, and gardening.

At the time of enlistment, John Macintyre was a student at Glebe Collegiate. Before this, he attended Owen Sound Collegiate for four years. When he moved to Ottawa, he decided to do an additional year of high school at Glebe while studying Algebra, English composition, and English literature as his upper school subjects. He hoped to attend university and become a chemical or physical engineer, specifically in research. John chose to join the war because: “I wanted to help get this war over with, and I felt I could be of more use flying an airplane than anything else” (p.200). He was a kind person who wanted to help his country, he felt a need to help wherever he could in the war, so the world could be peaceful.

John was selected to be a flying officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) after going through three different training schools. Initial training in Toronto, Ontario from July 16th, 1941 to August 20th, 1941. Air Observers Course in London, Ontario from September 2nd 1941 - November 23rd, 1941. Lastly, he was trained at Fingal bombing and gunnery school in Elgin County from May 28th, 1941 to January 3rd, 1942. He was an excellent student and first in his class at Fingal. Like stated in the first paragraph, John was described very highly by his supervisors. He was responsible and an extremely hard worker. After training, he went on to work for the Pennfield Ridge Air Station located in Charlotte County, New Brunswick. This was from January 4th, 1942 to February 1st, 1942. He then moved onto the Number 3 Personnel Reception Centre located in Bournemouth, England. This was the arrival point for thousands of commonwealth aircrew post training. John was there from March 10th, 1942 to May 19th, 1942. He then moved onto the Number 14 Operational Training Unit located in Cottesmore, England, where he trained many air force soldiers. This is considered to be a promotion in his rank. The RCAF saw him as a good leader who was dependable. He worked there from May 19th, 1942 to August 27th, 1942. Finally, John moved back to active service at the 425 Squadron in Yorkshire, England. He flew a Wellington HZ 312. This was the fifth bomber squadron, made up of mostly French Canadians, and they worked many missions including invasions to Sicily, Italy, and Germany. His service with the 425 squadron was from August 27th, 1942 to his death on June 23rd, 1943. Flying officer Macintyre completed all this from the young ages of 18 to 20 and ended up giving his life for our country. His total service was 767 days, each of with he made a generous contribution to fighting World War II.

On June 23rd, 1943, John was sent out for a bombing mission in Mülheim, Germany. The plane he was flying, the Wellington HZ 312, was shot down by German Military planes in Groin, near Rees and he died on impact. He was found dead and buried in a temporary cemetery, but his parents weren’t notified of this until two years later. Eventually, he was transported and buried at the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. There was also a proper ceremony for his life. This cemetery is located in Germany but is maintained by the commonwealth. Created by his parents, his cenotaph is located in Owen Sound, Ontario at the Greenwood Cemetery. His monument is located in Middleton, Nova Scotia, at the Old Holy Trinity Anglican Church Cemetery. Flying Officer MacIntyre gave his life for our country, and we have much gratitude for his service and sacrifice.

Memorial – Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute Second World War Memorial. Image courtesy of Owen Sound Collegiate (OSCVI) Digital Soldier Library

Newspaper clipping – From the Owen Sound Sun Time June 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Newspaper clipping – From the Owen Sound Sun Time January 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Newspaper clipping – From the Owen Sound Sun Time June 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Works Cited

“425 Squadron.” Royal Canadian Air Force Association, www.rcafassociation.ca/heritage/history/rcaf-and-the-crucible-of-war/425-squadron/.

Canada, Library and Archives. “MACINTYRE, JOHN SCOTT.” Recherche-Collection-Search.bac-Lac.gc.ca, recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=kia&IdNumber=21582 Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

Canada, Veterans Affairs. “John Scott MacIntyre - the Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada.” Www.veterans.gc.ca, 20 Feb. 2019, www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2040021?John%20Scott%20MacIntyre. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

“Catalogue Description 3 Personnel Reception Centre. Based at Bournemouth (UK) in July 1941. Detachments Also...” National Archive of the UK, 1941, discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7160643 Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

CWGC. “Reichswald Forest War Cemetery | Cemetery Details.” CWGC, www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/2003400/reichswald-forest-war-cemetery/ . Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

“Grave Memorial Records - Find a Grave.” Www.findagrave.com, www.findagrave.com/memorial/search?firstname=john&middlename=&lastname=macintyre&birthyear=1922&birthyearfilter=&deathyear=1943&deathyearfilter=&location=&locationId=&memorialid=&mcid=&linkedToName=&datefilter=&orderby=r&plot=. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

“List of Royal Air Force Operational Training Units.” Wikipedia, 5 Oct. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Royal_Air_Force_Operational_Training_Units#:~:text=14%20OTU%20was%20formed%20in Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

“No. 4 Bombing and Gunnary School, Fingal.” Www.elgincounty.ca, www.elgincounty.ca/ElginCounty/CulturalServices/Archives/sww/Fingal.html. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

“RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge.” RCAF.Info, rcaf.info/rcaf-stations/new-brunswick-rcaf-stations/rcaf-station-pennfield-ridge/ Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

The biographies appearing on this website have been written by students, roughly the same age as the soldiers they are studying, using primary source evidence from Library and Archives Canada, in addition to primary source documents from The Virtual War Memorial on veterans.ca. We welcome any corrections or additions you may have to these biographies.

'If we do preserve it, we honour them, and when we in our turn pass on, we will know that behind us lives a generation of free men and of free women to be the keepers of this great heritage of ours - Canada.'

- Ian A. McPhee, former student at GCI, 1937.

Glebe Collegiate Institute
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada

Page updated

Report abuse