Dayman, Harold Gordon

Harold Dayman was born on December 23, 1918 in Stirling, Alberta to parents William and Mary Ethel Dayman. His father was a C.P.R. station agent and the family lived in several towns in Southern Alberta. Harold had two brothers, Roy and Elvin, and two sisters, Frances and Eileen. In August 1921, the Dayman family moved to Carmangay, where Harold was educated, and all five Dayman children graduated from Carmangay High School. Adventurous and athletic, Harold built his own roadster out of salvaged metal and later bought an Indian Motorcycle. He excelled at all sports, but especially loved to play hockey and basketball. At time of enlistment, Harold was working at Clark Ruse Aircraft Repair in Calgary. In November 1941, Harold Dayman enlisted with the South Alberta Regiment. He was only with the unit for a couple months, when in February 1942, he sought out a position with the Royal Canadian Air Force, requesting consideration for aircrew or flying duties. After a year of training, he received his wings during a simple ceremony at Fort Macleod. On April 17, 1943, Flying Officer Dayman arrived in the United Kingdom, where he received further training flying Tiger Moths, Avro Ansons and Wellington Bombers. On October 12, 1943, Flying Officer Dayman and his crew had just taken off on a training mission, when black smoke began to pour from the port engine just after liftoff. Onlookers watched as he tried to find a place to land the plane, but the area was heavily wooded and the Wellington crashed just minutes later. Flying Officer Dayman, a member of his crew, and a British flight instructor were all killed instantly. The others managed to escape the wreckage, but were badly injured. An investigation cleared the crew of any fault, and listed the cause of the accident as mechanical failure. Flying Officer Dayman was laid to rest at Ollerton Cemetery. He was awarded the Defence Medal, War Medal and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp for his wartime service. His mother, Mary Ethel received the Memorial Cross in honour of her son