Greig, Patrick Joseph McCrohan

Joe Greig was born on October 19, 1921 in Calgary, Alberta to parents George and Daisy Greig. He was just a boy when he lost his father, and moved with his mother to the Barons area. He graduated from Barons Consolidated School and enjoyed tinkering with his Model A Ford. At time of enlistment, Joe was single and working on a local farm. On July 11, 1940, Joe Greig enlisted for service in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He received training at bases in Calgary, Brandon and Toronto and on November 6, 1942, qualified as an air bomber. Flying Officer Greig finished at the top of his class and received a gold identification bracelet in recognition of his achievement. One month later, he arrived in the United Kingdom and was posted to 420 Squadron RCAF. During the next six months, he served with an all Canadian crew, flying missions in a Wellington bomber. On June 1, 1943, Flying Officer Greig and his crew mates were en route to North Africa, when contact was lost with their aircraft. They were initially reported missing, but their status was later updated to lost at sea and presumed dead. As his remains were never recovered or identified, Flying Officer Greig is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial to the missing. For his wartime service, he was awarded the 1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, War Medal and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp. His mother, Daisy received the Memorial Cross to honour the loss of her only child