Documenting the WWII Fallen of Toronto's Elementary Schools
Albert Edward Sealy
(brother of Harold Hogarth Sealy)
Albert Sealy's parents were both English immigrants to Toronto. His father Leonard Henry Thomas Sealy was born in the mid-1890s in Bridgwater in southwest England and worked for a tailor sewing suits. He arrived in Canada in August 1913 and by 1919 he was living with his parents at 159 Jones Avenue. Two siblings, Reginald and Grace were also living at home. Albert's mother Mabel Hogarth came from Barrow-in-Furness on England's northwest coast, born circa 1899. Her family moved to Toronto in May 1905 and in 1917 they were living in a house that was at 158 Kingston Road. She was a packer, probably in a factory, and had at least three sisters, Maggie, Mary and May. She wed Leonard on May 5, 1919 and they found a flat on Dingwall Avenue near Pape. Their first son, Harold Hogarth, was born on June 28, 1920. It is unclear whether Albert was born next, on April 18, 1923 or if his brother Jack was the older of the two. Leonard was sewing suits for Eaton's Department Store. The Sealys were the first owners of 857 Sammon Avenue in the early 1920s and were members of the nearby Woodbine Heights Baptist Church.
Leonard Sealy had an unique hobby that he shared with his sons – racing pigeons. The house had a coop in the yard and in the garage in the winter time. In 1931, he and a friend co-owned the pigeon which for several years held the Canadian speed record, averaging 1.7 kilometres per minute. The racing season was between May and September and pigeons would be given to officials who would drive the birds hundreds of miles away and release them at the same time. The homing pigeons would arrive at their home coop a few hours later and the owner would take a ring which had been placed on their pigeon's leg and put it in a machine which would record the time of arrival. Breeding pigeons was and is like breeding race horses – analyzing blood lines to breed the fastest bird. For several decades Leonard was the president of the Canadian Racing Pigeon Union.
His sons attended Danforth Park and Albert graduated in the Class of 1936. Like his brothers, Albert liked to play hockey, cricket, basketball, baseball and he liked to swim. When he was 15, he dislocated his left elbow. He continued at East York Collegiate and in 1941 was awarded his Junior Matriculation for four years of high school. His brother Harold had joined the RCAF in February 1941. Brother Jack joined the army and was serving in the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps. In August Albert found a job as a clerk at JR Timmins, a Bay Street trading company, where he remained until February 1942. He left to take a clerk position at Chartered Trust Company on King Street near Bay.
In April, Harold came home for his embarkation leave. He had graduated as a navigator and he shipped to England in June 1942. On the 12th, Albert enlisted in the RCAF, hoping to become a pilot. There were concerns that he was underweight – 113 lbs and 5'5”, but by October he had gained 9 pounds.
Like all RCAF recruits, he followed the same path, starting at the manning depot on the CNE grounds, learning the basics of military life, like keeping his kit and uniform tidy, drilling and marching. On September 26 he entered the Initial Training School that was north of Eglinton Avenue near Avenue Road. There he learned signals, meteorology, navigation and aircraft recognition. His tests showed that he wasn't suited to being a pilot.
RCAF Bristol Bolingbroke. Canadian Forces photo.
In December he was sent to the No. 4 Bomber and Gunnery school in Fingal, Ontario, southwest of St. Thomas, near Lake Erie to be a bomber or a gunner, training on Anson and Bolingbroke planes. In early February 1943 he got word that his brother Harold had been killed in a plane crash in England on January 29. His surviving brother Jack and uncle Reginald, who were both stationed in England, attended the funeral on February 5 in Bridgwater. On February 10 Albert entered the station hospital for five days for an unknown reason. He graduated from the course as an average student on March 5 and was given a special leave from March 8 to the 21st,. Then the air force figured he would make a good bomb aimer and sent him to St Johns, New Brunswick to the Advanced Observers School there. He spent 32.25 hours in the air in Ansons, graduating as an air bomber on April 30 and given the promotion to Flight Sergeant that day.
He came home again to Toronto for his embarkation leave from May 1 to 15 and then he had to report to Halifax. His ship sailed on May 27, arriving in Britain on June 4 and the next day he reported to the Personnel Reception Centre in Bournemouth where airmen awaited their assignments. On June 15, he started a course at No. 4 Air Observers School of the Advanced Flying Unit to continue his bomber training.
Albert's next stop on July 13 was at No. 26 Operational Training Unit in Wing, just north of London. There he trained on Wellington night bombers. He was given leave on September 21 but was recalled a week early to report to No. 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit in Stradishall, 25 kilometres east of Cambridge. The airfield trained crews on the Stirling bomber. The four-engined Short Stirling was a much larger aircraft than the Wellington, and more complex. The first two weeks were at ground school to learn about the Stirling’s fuel, pneumatic, electrical and hydraulic systems. Also practised during those first weeks were emergency drills with the associated equipment. The first 15 hours of flying training were devoted to day circuits for pilot conversion; half dual and half solo, without crew. During this time, the only other crew member who could gain any practice at his trade was the wireless operator. Albert's position in the plane was lying on his stomach in the nose.
Short Stirling bomber. From www.airvectors.net.
Aircrew at an RAF conversion unit walking under a Stirling, 1942. The bomb aimer was located in the nose, under the wireless operator/front gunner. From the collection of The Imperial War Museum.
By the end of November Albert's crew was accomplished enough to join RAF Squadron 199, located at RAF Lakenheath, 25 kilometres northwest of Cambridge. The Squadron flew Stirlings and primarily laid mines over the English Channel and North Sea. Albert was given leave from November 30 to December 6. His first mission was on December 22 to lay mines off the west coast of France, south of the mouth of the Loire River. Albert was the only Canadian in his crew of RAF airmen. The pilot Charles Clifton and wireless operator/air gunner Walter Newman were both 22 year old Englishman. Cyril Atherton, the rear gunner was the old man of the group at 31. The upper gunner was 20 year old Andrew Johnston from the West Highlands of Scotland. Rounding out the crew were Flight Engineer Leslie Rush and Navigator Thomas Ord. They took off at 1722 hrs, dropping their mines at 2002 hrs from 5000 feet. The Stirling returned at 2259 hrs after a successful mission. Christmas and the New Year were quiet for the crew and their next mission was on January 6, to drop more mines off the French coast.
They had a five day leave from January 14 to 18, 1944. On January 20 they mined the waters around the Frisian Islands off the coast of the Netherlands. The next night was a bombing mission of a “special target” near Abbeville, France. The Stirling took off at 1837 hrs, attacking at 2043 hrs from 9000 feet. On their return, they were hit by friendly fire over London but returned safely to base at 2211 hrs.
Their following mission was laying mines in the Heligoland area on January 27. Heligoland are a group of islands in the North Sea, about 40 kilometres off the German coast. The mission was uneventful. On the 28th, Albert's crew and eight other squadron Stirlings took off to lay mines in the sea off of south-east Denmark. Albert's plane took off at 1846 hrs. When the Stirling approached the Danish island of Romo, it was attacked by a German night-fighter. Pilot Clifton had them drop their mines, to lighten the load, but to no avail. At 2230 hrs the Stirling crashed in shallow water at the north end of the island, killing all on board. On February 3, the crew was buried as unknown airmen in Kirkeby cemetery on the island, not identified until 1946. Albert was 20 years old.
Albert's grave, Kirkeby Cemetery, Island of Romo, Denmark. From www.flensted.eu.com.
Albert had died on the eve of the first anniversary of Harold's death. The Sealys lost two sons in the war. Jack had been slightly injured in the army, but he came home safely to Toronto. Leonard, who had supplied the RCAF with homing pigeons during the war, passed away in 1961. Mabel was still living on Sammon Avenue in 1969.