Lewin H. Curphy
Lewin H. Curphy
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Lewin H. Curphey was born on January 3, 1919 in St. John, New Brunswick . He lived at 98 James St Ottawa when attending Lisgar collegiate institute. He was a younger brother who lived with his mother Gabriel Perault and his father Robert Curphey. He attended Lisgar from 1935 to 1939 and graduated from there. Before he joined the air force he worked as a clerk. During his free time he enjoyed playing hockey and tennis. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force unit 112 as a Lieutenant. He was 5 '4 with ruddy complexion, his hair was brown and his eyes were blue. He enlisted in the RCAF November 22, 1940 at the age of 21.
When Lewin H.Curphey decided to enlist in the RCAF, he might have thought that serving his country was more important than being a clerk or maybe thought that flying a plane would be more thrilling than his current career. His older brother had recently joined the RCAF and he most likely did not want to be worse than him. Propaganda also might have served a major role in his decision. After his first tests his officer decided that the best position for him would be a pilot. His skills as a pilot were average but his ambition and determination awarded him a spot there. He was also pleasant and fit the air crew really well. During his 3 years in the army he notably was called “Bunny” and flew in many planes such as the Bf-109 and the Spitfire.During his time as a pilot he helped attack the Axis ship of Tobruk and helped blast Rommel in the Middle East.
On January 13th 1943, just seven weeks after the death of his brother Robert in air operations in Europe, Lewin H. Curphey died at the age of 24 on a bomber escort mission and he failed to return. He most likely died on sea but the location of death is currently unknown. He is commemorated at the Alamein War Memorial column 271 in Egypt.
Newspaper clipping – Ottawa Citizen
Photo of Lewin Henry Curphey – Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
Newspaper Clipping – From the Ottawa Citizen. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
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.
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Lisgar Collegiate Institute
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
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