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John Sidney Bray DFC was a native of Swan River, Manitoba, born in 1923, the son of Sidney Hughes Bray and Bessie Clare (Fox) Bray. He enlisted with the RCAF in Ottawa, on August 12, 1942 and received air crew instruction at various training schools in Canada and graduated on August 20, 1943 before being posted overseas.After further training in the UK, Flight Lieutenant Bray became a pilot and captain of a Lancaster Bomber crew. Starting October 23, 1944, he carried out 28 risky and dangerous bombing sorties to heavily defended enemy targets such as Essen, Cologne, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Munchen-Gladbach, Munich and Nuremberg, and despite heavy odds against safe returns to base, completed his 28th trip on March 18, 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) effective July 5, 1945. The citation referred to his courage and skill against heavy opposition and his ability to instill a high rate of morale in his crew. |
