Francis Carlyle (“Lyle”) Goring was born on September 19, 1921, the son of William Curtis (born in Petrolia) and Amanda Flora (nee McLean, born in Brooke, Lambton County) Goring, of 133 Richard Street, Sarnia. He was also the nephew of Sarnians Mr. and Mrs. O.E. Mannen of Richard Street and Mr. and Mrs. Mose Hallam of Lakeshore Road. Francis Lyle had four brothers: Curtis Albert (born 1914 – see above), Ralph Archibald (born in Detroit in 1917), Keith Emerson (born 1918) and Scotty Ross; as well as two sisters: Marion (born 1919) and another one. When he was only nine years old Lyle would lose his mother, Amanda, when she died in 1930. Four of the Goring boys would go on to serve in the Armed Forces. He had three brothers who were in the aerial division of the armed forces: Sergeant Ralph A. Goring was overseas with the U.S. glider infantry; Flight-Sergeant Curtis Albert Goring, who went overseas with Francis, a member of the RCAF who had died one year earlier; and brother LAC Scotty Ross Goring, who was stationed at an R.C.A.F. base in Quebec.

While attending Sarnia Collegiate, Francis Lyle was one of the leading marksmen there. After graduating from Sarnia Collegiate, Francis Goring enlisted, and at the time was residing with his aunt and uncle Mr. and Mrs. Moses Hallam of 529 Christina Street, later 359 Wellington Street, Sarnia. Nineteen year-old Francis Lyle joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, in January of 1941. He would receive his wings on December 5, 1941 at Dunnville, graduating as a sergeant pilot. On December 26th of 1941, Lyle and his brother Curtis would leave for an Eastern Canada air command. Not long afterwards, in January of 1942, Lyle would be sent overseas. Approximately four months after arriving overseas, Lyle experienced the thrill of being introduced to Their Royal Majesties. While stationed in England, Lyle shook hands with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth when they paid a surprise visit to the squadron in which Lyle was in.

In January 1943, Lyle was promoted to Pilot Officer. Lyle would become a member of RCAF #430 City of Sudbury Squadron, attaining the rank of Flying Officer-Pilot. In the spring of 1943, Francis Lyle Goring would marry in England. The couple would have a daughter together. In September of 1943, Lyle Goring celebrated his 22nd birthday “somewhere in England.”  In March of 1943, he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and made a flight commander in the R.C.A.F. In March of 1944, Francis Lyle Goring was part of a group of eight members of the Royal Canadian Air Force that were given the opportunity to visit a coal mine in North Wales. Arrangements had been made by the British Council, a national organization devoted to fostering goodwill. The eight members of the RCAF were outfitted with overalls, helmets and lanterns and descended the half-mile to the pit bottom so quickly that ear-drums clicked. Francis Lyle Goring expressed the common thought: “Whooee, just like a power dive.” As the RCAF fliers debarked from the cage, they were met by the “onsetter,” Freddie Edwards and shouted a cheery “Ullo chaps.” His 16-year old assistant grinned through a layer of coal. The assistant had chosen this job when he became eligible for compulsory employment in one of several industries. In the muffled darkness of the mine the fliers met muscular Britons toiling at the coal face. The Canadians and the miners were soon engaged in a friendly discussion as to the merits of working “above” versus “below” the earth’s surface, and each opined his job was the easiest. The fliers walked up slants and down steep grades, churning the dust and puffing audibly, surrounded by the deafening clatter, screeching and rumbling sounds inside the mine. One RCAF flier stated, “We’ll take a nice quiet war anytime.”

On August 12, 1944, Francis Lyle Goring was aboard his Mustang aircraft AG455, and would lose his life when his aircraft was shot down while it was engaged in a tactical reconnaissance over Culey Le Patry, between Falaise and Vire, France, during the Battle of Normandy. Approximately one week later, father William Curtis Goring in Sarnia would receive a telegram from R.C.A.F.headquarters in Ottawa informing him that his son, Flight Lieutenant F.C. Goring was reported missing after air operations overseas on August 12. The department said that a letter would follow. Not long before receiving the telegram, William Goring had received a letter from his son Francis Lyle stating that he expected to be returned to Canda soon. Francis Lyle Goring would later be officially listed as, Previously reported missing after air operations, now for official purposes, presumed dead, overseas (France). Twenty-two year old Francis Carlyle Goring is buried in Banneville-La-Campagne War Cemetery, Calvados, France, Grave IV.C.3. For widowed father William Goring back in Sarnia, this was the second son he lost in the war, losing his oldest son Curtis of the RCAF, less than one year prior.

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