Cecil George Heeney
Cecil George Heeney
Embedded Files
Cecil George Heeney, born on June 3, 1915, in Ottawa, Ontario. He grew up at 7 Hawthorne Ave with his parents, Margaret Ann and Robert John Heeney, and his brother, Robert Tilton Heeney. They were a Presbyterian family, and Cecil attended school at Ottawa Collegiate Institute (now known as Lisgar CI). In the summers, he worked as a camp counselor, helping boys at summer camp.
At the age of 20, during the Great Depression in 1935, Cecil joined the military. Jobs were hard to find, and the military offered stable pay, so he enlisted as a way to support himself and his family. Cecil served for three years, gaining valuable experience and training before World War II broke out. He also served in the RCMP in 1938-1939. His decision to join the military would later lead him to serve in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the war.
When World War II started, Cecil was just 24 years old. He reenlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) on September 7, 1939, to help protect Canada and its allies. As part of his service, he flew in anti submarine patrols, where he and other crew members searched German submarines threatening ships in the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, during one of these patrols, Cecil's plane went missing, and neither he nor his crew was ever found.
At the time of enlistment, Cecil was a healthy young man, weighing 140 pounds, with brown eyes and dark brown hair. He passed his medical exam easily and was eager to serve his country. His death on December 29, 1941 at the age of 26 was a great loss to his family and his community, and he is remembered as a brave man who gave his life during war. His brother Robert was killed flying his Spitfire on operations in France on August 9, 1943.
After Cecil Heeney finished his medical exam, this was his timeline of what he did while serving until unfortunately passing away: Cecil was posted to Camp Borden in Ontario in 1935. In 1938 he got posted to Halifax and he was struck off strength.
Newspaper Clipping – Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Newspaper clipping – Newspaper clipping – Corporal CECIL GEORGE HEENEY, Flight Sergeant ARTHUR CHAPMAN, Pilot Officer KENNETH GEORGE SCHAEFER, Pilot Officer ALBERT WILLIAM RUNTE, Flying Officer JAMES WILLIAM PAUL SKIDMORE and Leading Aircraftman JOHN SYDNEY LEGON were reported as 'Missing in Active Service' in Canada in the 151st Casualty List of the Royal Canadian Air Force published in the Globe & Mail on January 3, 1942, three days after their aircraft went missing.
Photo of Cecil George Heeney – Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
Newspaper Clipping – Remembered on the pages of the Ottawa Journal. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Newspaper clipping – Margaret Heeney was the Silver Cross Mother in 1954. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Memorial – Corporal CECIL GEORGE HEENEY, Royal Canadian Air Force died on December 29, 1941 and is commemorated OTTAWA MEMORIAL, Ontario,Canada as he has no known grave. There is an inscription to his memory, and the memory of his brother Flying Officer ROBERT TILTON HEENEY, on the family grave marker in Pinecrest Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario. Robert died on August 9, 1943 and was buried at BOULOGNE EASTERN CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France.
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.
Lisgar Collegiate Institute
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
Page updated
Report abuse