MP calls for Canada to honour pilot who died in flight over England

AN MP has called for Canada to honour a Second World War pilot who sacrificed his life to save “potentially thousands of civilians he never knew” in an English town.

- By SAM HALL PA and SHARIF HASSAN, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Royal Canadian air force pilot officer William McMullen, 29, was stationed at RAF Middleton St George, now Teesside Airport, during the war.

He was captaining a training flight in a Lancaster bomber on January 13, 1945 when the plane caught fire above Darlington.

He ordered his six crew members to parachute themselves out safely and remained at the controls to steer the aircraft away from the town of 60,000 people, directing it towards an empty field.

Pilot officer McMullen, from Scarborough, Ontario, was the only person to die in the crash.

Darlington MP Lola McEvoy has written to the Directorate of Honours and Recognition in Ottawa, Canada, asking the Canadian government to consider him for a posthumous bravery medal. The Labour MP wrote: “I believe that his heroism has not received the recognition it deserves for many years, and I am respectfully proposing that he be considered for a posthumous honour for his remarkable heroism.

“His selfless actions spared the lives of potentially thousands of civilians he never knew and exemplify the highest standards of courage and duty.” Ms McEvoy has also called for a statue to be erected in his memory in the centre of Darlington.