Memorial Windows for a Fallen Airman 

Story and photos by Gord McNulty
March 2026
Stained glass windows in memory of Flight Lieutenant Richard Blake Palmer were rededicated at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Mount Hope, Ontario, on 15 March 2026.
Rev. Dr. John Stephenson rededicates the Palmer Memorial Windows at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Mount Hope on 15 March 2026.
Palmer, a student at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, ON, enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) on 25 February 1941. His interviewer wrote that he was well-educated, mannerly, keen to serve and fly, and considered suitable for commissioned rank. Palmer completed his training in October 1941. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Clarke prior to deployment.

On 15 March 1944, Palmer and four of his Canadian crew died in the crash of a Royal Air Force (RAF) 357 Squadron Hudson III in Burma on 15 March 1944. The bomber crashed on a hillside 85 miles east of Lashio, Burma. Only the navigator survived, with serious injuries.

The squadron was a “Special Duties” unit that focused on clandestine operations, supplying guerrilla forces, and transporting agents behind enemy lines.

In Flight Lieutenant Palmer’s memory, the windows were commissioned by his parents in his family’s home church in Vineland Station, ON. When the building was sold, the windows were not wanted. They were then offered to a fitting home - St. Paul’s, site of a Memorial Garden for 16 RAF airmen who died in British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) fatalities at Mount Hope.
Corp. Willie Wood (RAF, Ret’d), representing the Royal Air Force Regiment Association Canadian Chapter, recalled the wartime sacrifices of the Allied air forces.
St. Paul’s restored and installed the beautiful windows. The rededication was conducted by the Rev. Dr. John Stephenson, in a ceremony as part of the church service, with special guests from 447 Wing RCAF Association and 779 Black Knight Air Cadet Squadron in attendance.
Air Cadets of 779 Black Knight Squadron join veterans in an annual remembrance service at St. Paul’s Anglican Church for 16 RAF aircrew who died in fatalities at Mount Hope during the BCATP. This was the scene in September 2015.
The four other members of Palmer’s crew: Flight Lieutenant L. Patterson; Flight Lieutenant J. C. S. Ponsford; Warrant Officer B.A. Ogilvie; and Flight Sergeant J. Wilkinson, were recognized.

Corp. Willie Wood, (Royal Air Force, Ret’d) spoke about the wartime sacrifices of the Allied air forces during the Second World War during the commemoration.