Garth "Bunny" Beley: Flight Officer in the Royal Air Force (WWII)
Flight Officer Garth “Bunny” Beley
MS 38: Flight Officer Garth “Bunny” Beley, date unknown. Service Number: 43022
Garth “Bunny” Beley (Robert Wilfred Garth Beley) was the first Rosslander killed during the Second World War. Born in Nelson on December 13, 1919, Bunny moved to Rossland with his family in 1923. In Rossland, Bunny was highly active in the community and a prominent member of the Rossland Ski Club, winning many local tournaments. Bunny departed Rossland in August 1939, travelling to England to enlist in the Royal Air Force (RAF). By July 1940, Bunny had completed his flight training and became a full-fledged RAF pilot and member of the No. 151 Squadron.
As a pilot, Bunny served in England, fighting in the skies above London and the English Channel. In August 1940, while protecting a convoy in the English Channel, Bunny’s plane was attacked and destroyed. Although Bunny survived the crash and was rescued from the sea, he later succumbed to his injuries and died in hospital on August 12, 1940, at RAF Manston in Kent, England. He was only 20 years old at the time of his death.
Bunny was survived by his parents, John and Flora Beley, and three siblings, Molly, Geoff, and Pat. After his death, the high school branch of the Rossland Red Cross was renamed the “Garth Beley Junior Red Cross Club.”
For More Information:
Battle of Britain Monument | “The Airmen’s Stories - P/O R W G Beley”
Canadian Virtual War Memorial | “Pilot Officer Robert Wilfred Garth Beley”