Remembering World War II

Name: Otto John Peterson Rank: Pilot Officer Service Number: C/900 Service: 1 (RCAF) Squadron Date of Birth: March 14, 1915 Place of Birth: Eckville, Alberta Date of Enlistment: November 7, 1938 Place of Enlistment: RCAF Station Trenton, Hastings Co., Ontario Age at Enlistment: 23 Address at Enlistment: Ontario Occupation: Clerk Marital Status: Single (at enlistment) Religion: Protestant, Lutheran Next of Kin: Mrs. P. H. Peterson (Mother) Lloydminster, Saskatchewan Helen Marion Peterson (Wife) Halifax, NS Date of Death: September 27, 1940 Age at Death: 25 Cemetery: Brookwood Military Cemetery, England Grave: Section 3, Row K, Grave 1A Inscription: “In Loving Memory of my Dear Husband” Commemorated on Page 17 of His page of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower on January 18th NEVER WAS SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO SO FEW Otto John Peterson was the son of Peter Hafdon Peterson (1888-1980), and Magdalena (Hamre) Peterson (1889-1974), both of Norwegian birth, the younger brother of Peter Martin Peterson, and the older brother of Alice Marie Peterson, and Harold Raymond Peterson. Otto enjoyed swimming, tennis, and skating, and noted he liked and played most sports. He had graduated from High School in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan (1928-1932), attended University of Saskatchewan (1933- 1936), and graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Mathematics (1936-1937). Before enlisting Otto worked as a clerk for the Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada in Ontario from May to December of 1937, for Scully and Scully Chartered Accountants from December 1937 to March of 1938, and for the Waterloo Manufacturing Company from March of 1938 until enlistment. Otto initially attested in Trenton, Ontario in 1938, where he completed some of his training. He then moved to Nova Scotia where he carried out additional training and was stationed there with the RCAF. He re-attested January 18, 1940, for active service in WWII, in Halifax, NS. Otto married Helen Marion Murray (b. 1919) of 38 Walnut Street, Halifax, on March 21, 1940. The two lived at 40 Queen Street in Halifax, before Otto went overseas. He completed an Air Pilotage Course at Halifax, Nova Scotia from January 22, 1940, to February 2nd, departed Canada from Halifax, and arrived in England at Liverpool on June 20, 1940. In a letter on August 11, 1940, Peterson told his family, reassuringly, “We will do our best & I’ll certainly do my best to look after myself – but there’s nothing to worry about because worry does no good. I’ve got a lot to look forward to in future years with Helen, so I intend to be one of those who comes back – my chances are very good – in fact a lot better than most, so here’s hoping.” He transferred from RAF Croydon in Surrey to RAF Northolt in Middlesex on August 17, 1940. On September 9, 1940, Otto assisted a second Nova Scotian pilot, Flight Lieutenant Edwin Reyno of Herring Cove, Halifax, NS, in helping their Squadron Leader Ernest McNab in an air battle over the skies of England. In a letter to his mother, Peterson explained that 2 Messerschmitt 109's had closed in on the tail of the machine flown by Squadron Leader McNab. Flight Lieutenant Reyno matched one and chased it off, while Peterson swooped to attack the second. He "got it" with a burst of fire from his machine guns, he said in his letter. "In fact, it seemed to disintegrate in the air." In all, Peterson damaged or destroyed 3-7 enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain. Sadly, Pilot Officer Otto John Peterson was killed in action September 27, 1940. Based out of Northolt in Middlesex, his Hurricane was shot down over North Kent by a BF109 near Hever in County Kent in combat with Ju88s and BF110s during a patrol. His Hurricane P3647 crashed near Hever, Kent with the record listing the location as of the crash as Greenlands Farm, Markbeech, Edinbridge, in Kent County. His body was taken to Farnborough in Kent, and he was interred October 1, 1940, at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, England. At least 22 Canadians died in the Battle of Britain. Pilot Officer Peterson is the only known casualty of the Battle of Britain with ties to Nova Scotia. He was the third and final fatal casualty from No. 1 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. Otto John Peterson is also remembered with the Battle of Britain Memorial window at Westminster Abbey in London, England unveiled in 1947, the Battle of Britain Memorial Monument on the banks of the Thames River, and the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-Le-Ferne near Folkestone, Kent above the White Cliffs.

Otto John Peterson

Sources: The Battle of Britain London Memorial Canadian Virtual War Memorial Commonwealth War Graves Commission Flyingforyourlife findagrave Government of Canada - RCAF - Battle of Britain - Profiles in Courage

In the fall of 1940, during the Battle of Britain, officers of RCAF’s No. 1 Squadron (left to right) Flying Officer Otto John Peterson, Flying Officer Jean-Paul Joseph Desloges, Flying Officer Paul Brooks Pitcher and Flying Officer Hartland de Montarville Molson, stand outside a tent at Royal Air Force Northolt, South Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon: DND Archives, PL-3001