After graduating from Trenton, he was posted, as an instructor, to No. 4 Service Flying Training School at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Next he was posted to the RCAF base at Vulcan, Alberta and then to Penfield Ridge, New Brunswick.

On June 12, 1943, he left Halifax Nova Scotia on a troopship destined for the UK. After arriving there he received further training and then was posted to No. 434 Squadron, Bomber Command, in Yorkshire, England, to begin a tour of bombing attacks over Europe.

For Bomber Command air crew, there was a low probability of surviving and returning safely, from their first tour of 30 missions over enemy held Europe. Over 60 % of air crew who began a tour of 30 missions would lose their lives before completing the 30 missions.

Regardless of the terrible odds, bomber crews buckled on their parachutes and began each mission with determination. They fell prey to the hazards of fog, icing and lightning, and they perished amongst the bursting shells of anti-aircraft guns.

However, the greatest number died in the desperately unequal combat and the overwhelming firepower of tenacious German night fighter defenders. Over 9,900 Canadians in Bomber Command air crew, sacrificed their lives fighting dictatorship and autocracy. Their bombers had either been shot down over Europe, crashed into the sea or crashed in England.

Some airmen survived the crashes, others were rescued at sea, and others were taken prisoner after being shot down. A great many of those who died, never had a chance to bail out. They perished when their aircraft loaded with tons of explosives and high octane gas either exploded in the air or on impact with the ground. Others were killed when they plumetted several kilometres to the ground after their parachutes caught fire from their burning aircraft.

The odds finally caught up with Lloyd Cameron on the night of February 19-20, 1944 when his Halifax bomber with a crew of six, was attacked when leaving a target over Leipzig, Germany. His bomber caught fire and he instructed the crew to bail out. He did not have time to bail out himself and was killed when the bomber crashed.

Thanks to Cameron’s prompt instruction to bail out, four of the crew, including the navigator, parachuted to safety and were taken prisoner. Their names were Danny Rioux of Ottawa, John Gilman & George N. Ferrier both of Toronto and Bill Raymond from British Columbia.

In recognition of his skill and valour, Cameron was awarded the George VI Silver Cross posthumously. He is buried in the Commonwealth Cemetery at Berlin, Germany.