Arthur Gander was born in Sarnia on August 15, 1923, the son of Arthur Edward (born in Tunbridge Wells, England) and Gladys Genevieve Edith (nee Browne, born in Brighton, Sussex, England) Gander, of 405 South Mitton Street, Sarnia. Arthur had three brothers: Victor (born 1928), Douglas (born 1934), and Norman (born 1936), and two sisters, Margaret Edith (born 1921) and another one. Arthur attended Devine Street School, and then Sarnia Collegiate, graduating in 1941 at the age of seventeen. Single at the time, Arthur enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942, and graduated from the #9 Bombing and Gunnery School in Quebec in July of 1943. He wanted to be a navigator, but instead was posted as a Flying Officer. Arthur went overseas to Scotland in August 1943, and it was there that he was promoted to Sergeant-Air Gunner.

Arthur became a member of the RCAF #427 Lion squadron “Ferte Manus Certas” (Strike sure). Arthur made seven successful trips with his squadron over Germany. On the night of November 18, 1943, Arthur Gander and his crew were aboard their Halifax aircraft LK976, when they left the aerodrome to carry out a night bombing mission on Mannheim Germany. Due back the next morning, something went wrong, and the aircraft never returned, and there was no communication from it. Likely, their aircraft had crashed in the English Channel.

While overseas, Arthur Gander had written home once a week for 17 weeks. When his family did not receive an 18th letter, parents Arthur Sr. and Gladys Gander in Sarnia knew that something was wrong.  Initially, Arthur Senior and Gladys would receive a telegram from the RCAF Casualties Officer in Ottawa informing them that their son, Sergeant Arthur Frederic Gander is reported missing in action after air operations overseas, after a raid over Germany.  In a letter sent in late November 1943 by #427 Wing Commander R.S. Turnbull to Arthur’s father, Wing Commander Turnbull wrote:

It is with deep regret that I write to you this date to convey to you the feelings of my entire Squadron. We lost an excellent crew when this aircraft did not return from this operation and we count its loss a most severe blow to this

Squadron. Although Arthur and the other members of his crew had not been long members of this particular Squadron, in the short period of time that he was with us he carried out his duties in cheerful and energetic manner. Arthur was popular with all ranks of this Squadron’s personnel and it is indeed a pity that his career with us should be terminated so abruptly by this tragic event. There is always the possibility that Arthur may be a prisoner-of –war, in which case, you will either hear from him direct, or through the Air Ministry, who will receive advice from the International Red Cross Society. Your son’s effects have been gathered together and forwarded to the Royal Air Force Central Depository, where they will be held until better news is received, or in any event for a period of at least six months before being forwarded on to you through the Administrator of Estates, Ottawa. May I now express the great sympathy which all of us here share with you in your grievous anxiety, and I would like to assure you also how greatly we all honour the noble sacrifice your son has made, so far from home, in the Cause of Freedom, in the Service of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

 Nine months later, in August 1944, Arthur Sr. and Gladys Gander would receive another letter from the R.C.A.F. Casualty Officer, stating:

It is with deep regret that, in view of the lapse of time and the absence of any further information concerning your son, Sergeant Arthur Frederic Gander, since he was reported missing, the Air Ministry Overseas now proposes to take action to presume his death for official purposes.

 After her son Arthur was declared dead, his mother Glady’s Gander wrote the following poem:

Sometimes the note of his favourite song.

Brings a thought of him.

Oftimes the sound of a passing plane.

Is a temptation to speak his name.

A token of love and remembrance.

Of a son we shall never forget.

His memory is a treasure.

His loss a lifetime regret.

Along with Sergeant Arthur Gander, also killed, on the given date of November 19, 1943, were WO. P.G. Jolliffe; FS. R. Dixon; F/O.s F.W. Winter, P. Kennedy and Sgt. W. Riddell (RAF); and FS. G.C. Harper (RAF). Arthur Gander would later be officially listed as, Previously reported missing on active service with the R.C.A.F.,  now for official purposes, presumed dead.

In October 1950, Arthur Sr. and Gladys Gander would receive a letter from Wing Commander W.R. Gunn, RCAF Casualties Officer. It began with a statement of regret with regard to the loss of their son. It then stated that the Missing Research and Enquiry Service had located the grave of the navigator of Arthur’s crew, Flying Officer Winter, in the Parish Cemetery at Cayeux-Sur-Mer in the Department of Somme, France. It continued:

It was ascertained that his body had been recovered from the sea near Brighton, Department of Somme. Although this area has now been swept by search teams, unhappily, no information could be secured on any other member of the crew. In view of the above, therefore, it must be regretfully accepted that all members of the crew with the exception of Flying Officer Winter lost their lives at sea and have no known grave. Due to the extreme hazards attending air operations there are, unhappily, many thousands of British aircrew boys who, like your son, do not have a known grave, and their names will be commemorated on General Memorials that will be erected at a number of locations by the Imperial War Graves Commission (of which Canada is a member), each Memorial representative of a theatre of operations. One of these Memorials will be erected at Runnymede, England and the names of your son and the other members of his crew will appear on that Memorial. A detailed announcement concerning these General Memorials will be made at a future date. I realize that this is an extremely distressing letter and that there is no manner of conveying such news to you that would not add to your heartaches, and I am fully aware that nothing I may say will lessen your great sorrow, but I would like to take this opportunity of expressing to you and the members of your family my deepest sympathy in the loss of your gallant son.

Yours sincerely,

W.R. Gunn, Wing Commander, RCAF Casualties Officer, for Chief of the Air Staff.

Twenty year-old Arthur Gander has no known grave. His name is inscribed on the Runnymede War Memorial, Surrey, United Kingdom, Panel 186.

SOURCES: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J, L, M, N, R, 2C, 2D