Family sought for memorial service: Cpl. Freeman Archibald McKay

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Dauphin soldier's family sought
Memorial planned for victims of 1952 crash
By: Gabrielle Giroday

Updated: April 7 at 12:55 AM CDT

Print Article E-mail Article He was a young father of two, who took a short flight to Vancouver in November 1952 to get sized for a Santa suit for an air force Christmas party.

But when the Lancaster carrying Dauphin-born Cpl. Freeman Archibald McKay crashed into a swampy area in southwestern British Columbia as it attempted to land, the 33-year-old died alongside seven other passengers.

Now, a retired Comox, B.C.-based airman wants to find McKay's surviving family members so they can attend a memorial in June.

The event will honour McKay and the other passengers who died in the crash.

"This crew had kind of fallen through the cracks," said Ted Gibbon, 72, a retired Canadian Air Force base commander who began researching the crash's circumstances with the Comox Valley Air Force Museum. "We're going to rectify that."

Gibbon found

some relatives of the other seven who died, but McKay was the lone Manitoban in the crash -- believed to have been caused in part due to poor weather.

The memorial bears an inscription approved by the ill-fated plane's now 82-year-old pilot -- one of only two onboard who survived the fiery crash after being pulled out by bystanders.

McKay had survived the Second World War as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, and was reported to be the recipient of numerous medals for his service.

After re-enlisting in 1949, McKay relocated to RCAF Comox, an air force base dedicated to surveillance of the Pacific coast.

The married father of Freddy, 5, and Laura, 2, had reportedly gone to Vancouver to get outfitted for the air base's first Christmas party. Nicknamed 'Tiny' by his buddies -- a play on what was reportedly his bulky size -- McKay never made it home from his costuming.

Two members of the plane's crew -- a navigator and a flight engineer -- also perished in the crash. The other six passengers who died, including McKay, also worked at the base.

"There's no memorial to the crew at all," said Gibbon.

"Because it was so early in the station's history, it was just kind of forgotten about."

The base, now called CFB Comox, still houses maritime patrol squadrons charged with keeping an eye on the Pacific Ocean, including potential shipments of drugs, illegal fishing or pollution.

After his death, McKay was buried in a cemetery in Manitoba, although researchers are unsure if McKay's grave was in Birch River or Crandall.

His parents have been identified as Freeman and Margaret McKay, and the airman was also survived by his sister Jean, his brothers James, Robert and Kenneth.

Anyone with information about McKay's surviving relatives can e-mail Ted Gibbon at ted.gibbon@shaw.ca, or contact him at 250-339-0989.

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca