Name: Cedric Gardiner Rafuse Rank: Flight Sergeant Service Number: R/104322 Service: 113 South Atlantic Wing, 45 Atlantic Transport Group, Royal Air Force Transport Command, Royal Canadian Air Force Date of Birth: December 9, 1917 Place of Birth: Scarsdale, Lunenburg Co., Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: July 17, 1941 Place of Enlistment: Halifax, Halifax Co., Nova Scotia Address at Enlistment: Barrs Corner, Lunenburg Co., Nova Scotia Age at Enlistment: 24 Height: 6 feet, ½ inch Complexion: Medium Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Light Brown Occupation: Farmer, Truck Driver Marital Status: Single Religion: Baptist Next of Kin: Mrs. Bertha Alice Rafuse (Mother), Barrs Corner, NS Date of Death: September 13, 1943 Age: 25 Cemetery: Nassau War Cemetery, Nassau, New Providence District, Bahamas Grave: East, Row B, Grave 2 Commemorated on Page 205 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on April 26 Cedric was the son of Norman Willis Rafuse (1876–1961) and Bertha Alice (Sarty) Rafuse (1887–1952), and the brother of Bernice Leina (Rafuse) Zwicker (1909–1992), Audrey Wilma (Rafuse) Patterson (1915–1975), and Leslie John Merlin Rafuse (1921–1999). His father was born in Parkdale, and his mother in West Northfield. The family lived in Barrs Corner, Lunenburg County, where his father worked as a farmer. Cedric spent seven years working on the family farm and with a local farming operation, followed by a year as a truck driver for Harris Whynot Barrs Corner Trucking before enlisting in the Air Force. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, skating, and baseball, and was also an avid reader. At the time of his enlistment, he was described as eager to fly, alert, quick, and likely to become an excellent airman. After enlisting in July 1941 and undergoing his initial assessment, Cedric was selected to train and serve as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner during the Second World War. He completed his wireless training as part of Course No. 41 at No. 4 Wireless School, a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) station located at RCAF Station Guelph, Ontario, from April 13 to October 24, 1942. He then proceeded to No. 6 Bombing and Gunnery School in Mountainview, Ontario, where he completed his armament training in Course No. 34 for Wireless Air Gunners from October 26 to November 23, 1942. After leaving Canada, Cedric was transferred to Windsor Field in Nassau, Bahamas, where he served with the Royal Air Force’s Ferry Command—later renamed Transport Command. Flight Sergeant Cedric Gardiner Rafuse’s Martin A-30 Baltimore Mark V aircraft (FW395) crashed at 08:00 on September 13, 1943, at the end of the runway at the Satellite Field in Nassau. During takeoff on a ferry flight to the Middle East, the aircraft swung off course and collided with trees. Cedric died as a result of his injuries later that day at 16:30 at the RAF Station Hospital in Nassau. Twenty-year-old Sergeant John Leslie Edward Blake of the RAF was also killed in the crash. Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, he was the son of Edward John Porteous Gillespie Blake (1897–1951) and Charlotte Stewart (Niven) Blake (1900–1940). John is buried alongside Cedric in Grave 1, next to Cedric’s Grave 2 in Row B at the Nassau War Cemetery. Cedric is the only known Second World War casualty with ties to Nova Scotia buried at the Nassau War Cemetery in Nassau, Bahamas.

Sources: Library and Archives Canada Canadian Virtual War Memorial findagrave