August 11, 1918 - March 2, 1945
Clarance/Clarence Lyall Shaver was the son of Clarence and Bessie Shaver, Avonmore, Ontario, and the husband of Catherine Purcell Shaver of Toronto, Ontario. He had two brothers and three sisters. The family was Presbyterian.
He had been a driller, mucker, and miner at International Nickel Co., plus a student prior to enlistment. "Wants to be pilot or observer. Confident and impulsive. History of car sickness. Never train sick. Two aircraft flights in February 1941: felt fine. Best suited for AO." He stood 5'10", weighed 170 pounds. He enjoyed hockey and baseball, softball and running. He did not list hobbies.
He was at No. 1 ITS, March to April 1941 and was 5th out of his class of 63. "Above average. Clean cut. Intelligent and quite capable of assuming responsibility. Steady with plenty of fighting spirit." At No 3. EFTS, April to May 1941: "A very good type of student, hard working and willing to learn but needs more practice on instrument flying and aerobatics." He was 11 out of 31 in his class. At No. 1 SFTS June to August 1941: "Instrument flying weak, airmanship good; finished course an average pupil." In Ground Training: "High average student. 75/5% Discipline and attitude average, very willing and keen, slow to understand." He was awarded his Pilot's Flying Badge on August 20, 1941. He was sent to RAF Trainees Pool, effective September 14, 1941.
On December 30, 1941, he was at 52 OTU. "A good average pilot who reacts to encouragement. He is keen and tries and should make a useful Squadron pilot."
He had 136 missions on his first tour and 66 on his second.
On October 10, 1945, Mr. Shaver received a letter explaining his son's death. "Eight aircraft of 439 Squadron, led by your son, took off at 10:55 am on March 2, 1945, as part of a Wing sortie to bomb the railway line and marshalling yards at Buldern, Germany. The flight to the target was uneventful. Following the attack on the target, an attack was also made on a locomotive and about fifteen cars at an unknown position after which a course was set for base. The clouds at the time were quite dense and after about ten to fifteen minutes of flying, a break in the clouds was seen and the Section dove down throug it, presumably to pin-point its position. Intense accurage light anti-aircraft fire was encountered almost immediately, and your son's aircraft was seen to be hit, flick on its back, dive into the ground ad burst into flames and unhappily, he was not seen to bale out." He was flying Typhoon MN144.
For more information, please see pages 80, 111, 116, 166, 182, and 184 in Typhoon and Tempest.
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