Michael John Quinlan was born in July, 1915, the son of Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Quinlan of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Quinlan served with the RCAF as a Pilot Officer until his death in March, 1944. The collection currently consists of thirteen letters and three photographs.

External links:
Pilot Officer John Michael Quinlan’s service record (Serv/Reg# J85433) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Quinlan can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Flight Sergeant Edward "Ted" Gordon Coke Richards was born on October 10, 1916 and served as a gunner with the 49th Squadron. He was killed on a raid over Germany, March 15, 1945, leaving behind a wife and infant daughter in Canada. The collection consists of five letters, two photographs, and seventeen poems he wrote while stationed overseas.

External links:
Flight Sergeant Edward Gordon Coke Richards’ service record (Serv/Reg# R252612) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Richards can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Thomas Joseph Roche was born in Toronto, Ontario in April, 1918 and enlisted with the RCAF where he served as WO II.  He served overseas with the 106 Sqdn.  Roch'e aircraft and crew were lost on a raid against Hamburg, Germany on July 28, 1943.  The collection currently consists of one letter, and two photographs.

External links:
Warrant Officer Thomas Joseph Roche’s service record (Serv/Reg# R115295) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Roche can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Francis (Frank) Michael Scandiffio was born on December 24, 1913 and served as a Pilot Officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the war. Frank was killed on July 15, 1944. The collection consists of twenty-nine letters written home by Tom as well as official correspondence relating to his death. See also the correspondence of his brother Thomas.

External links:
Pilot Officer Francis Michael Scandiffio’s service record (Serv/Reg# J88799) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Scandiffio can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Flight Officer Robert James Scofield was born July 7, 1925. He enlisted in World War II with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Training initially in Canada, Scofield qualified as Air Gunner in September 1942 at No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School in Fingal, Ontario. He was deployed overseas to England in February 1943, and in May of that year joined the R.C.A.F. strategic and tactical bombing unit No. 408 “Goose” Squadron. Scofield survived the war, and was living in Nanaimo, British Columbia, at the time of his death in 2000.

Content notes:
Included in the collection is Scofield’s R.C.A.F. flight log book with entries covering the period of May 1942 to January 1944. There is also a hybrid diary-scrapbook in which Scofield kept notated newspaper clippings relating to some of his operational flights over Germany. Transcriptions have been provided for the handwritten portions of these, and each entry includes both the diary-scrapbook images, along with the relevant log book entry for that flight.
Please note that while F/O is the highest rank appearing for Scofield within the collection materials, his final rank on discharge is unknown.

External links:
F/O Robert James Scofield’s service record (Serv/Reg# R139883 and J19017) is not open for public access at this time.

Flight Lieutenant Conrad Anthony ("Tony") Selfe, DFM, was born July 22, 1922, in Comox, British Columbia, to parents Richard and Irene Selfe.

He enlisted on July 29, 1941, in Vancouver, B.C., as an Aero Engine Mechanic with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Posted overseas in May 1943, Selfe was promoted to Flight Sergeant rank in October of that same year. He served with No. 425 (Alouette) Squadron before joining No. 426 (Thunderbird) Sqn. in May 1944. Released from service following the end of the war, Selfe rejoined the R.C.A.F. as a pilot in 1951 and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on July 1, 1955, retiring from military service sometime thereafter (date unknown).

The memoir in the Selfe Collection, written in 1990, is an account of the D-Day mission he flew as pilot of a Halifax bomber with the 426 Sqn., and for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM). The award was published in The London Gazette on August 22, 1944, with the following commendation:

“One night in June, 1944, Flight Sergeant Selfe captained an aircraft detailed for an operational mission. Whilst over the target the aircraft sustained severe damage. Both the port engines were rendered useless and a large part of one of the wings was torn away. The aircraft became difficult to control but Flight Sergeant Selfe released his bombs. Some height had been lost but course was set for home. When within sight of the English coast, the aircraft suddenly dived to 400 feet. The situation was critical but, by skilful airmanship, Flight Sergeant Selfe regained some height. As the coast was crossed he ordered his crew to leave the crippled aircraft by parachute. This done, he headed the aircraft out to sea before abandoning it himself. This airman displayed great courage, tenacity and devotion to duty in the face of perilous circumstances, setting a most inspiring example.”

External links:

F/S Selfe (Serv/Reg# R110459) survived the war; his Service Record is not open to public access at this time.
The awarding of the Distinguished Flying Medal, published in The London Gazette on August 22, 1944 (# 36665, p. 3883).

[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated October 2022. Some additional material was added (the newspaper clipping of 1945-03-10), and the collection description expanded.]

Daniel Serrick was born in Jollimore, Nova Scotia in September, 1920. In 1938 Serrick went to England and joined the Manchester Regiment, serving with 'B' Company until his evacuation from Dunkirk in June, 1940. He then transferred to the British Commandos and then to the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in July, 1942. From there Serrick volunteered for the joint American and Canadian The First Special Service Force and was killed in the Italian campaign on May 29, 1944. Daniel Serrick is buried in the Beach Head War Cemetery, Anzio, Italy. The collection consists of one letter to his sister as well as several photographs.

External links:
Staff Sergeant Daniel Serrick’s service record (Serv/Reg# U1805) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Serrick can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

William Steel served with the R.C.A.F. during WWII. This collection consists of more than 20 letters between himself and family members, miscellaneous documents, as well as some photographs. Some of the letters describe his life in Ceylon where he was stationed towards the end of the war.

Harold Charles Edward Stewart was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in August, 1920.  Stewart enlisted with the RCAF and was killed in a mid-air collision while training near Dunnville, Ontario on January 17, 1944.  The collection currently consists of personal correspondence, photographs, telegrams, and clippings.

External links:
Leading Aircraftman Harold Charles Edward Stewart’s service record (Serv/Reg# R210519) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Stewart can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.