Murray Peden

The Pedens are descendants of the 17th century Scottish Covenanter Alexander Peden (1626–1686).

Flight Lieutenant David Murray Peden (19 October 1923 – 6 January 2022) was a Canadian air force officer, lawyer, and author.

David Murray Peden was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on 19 October 1923 to William Peden (1893–1972) and Elsie Pearl Baldwin (1890–1987), and was the third of five children.

Peden spent most of his youth in Portage la Prairie, where he attended Portage Collegiate Institute.

He completed his secondary school at Gordon Bell High School in Winnipeg.

Peden's father was Scottish-born and worked as a railroad clerk in Manitoba.

On the 29th he was assigned a crew, which included P/O J. B. Waters, Sgt. "Stan" Stanley, Sgt. Eddie Jarvis, and Sgt. Sam Mather.

From 1941 to 1945 Peden served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a bomber pilot and completed the majority of his tour of duty with No. 214 Squadron of RAF Bomber Command.

Following the war he returned to Canada and became a lawyer in Winnipeg.

Later in life he authored three books.

In the spring of 1941, aged 17, Peden attended a recruitment rally in the Winnipeg Auditorium at which Air Marshal Billy Bishop spoke.

The rally enforced his enthusiasm to join upon turning 18.

On the morning of Monday, 20 October 1941, the day after his 18th birthday, Peden visited the Lindsay Building where he enlisted in the RCAF, being given the rank of Aircraftsman Second Class and the service number R134578, and was ordered to report to No. 3 Manning Depot, Edmonton, on 6 November 1941.

After a month in Edmonton, Peden was sent to No. 7 SFTS at RCAF Station Fort Macleod.

Following training at Macleod, Peden was posted to No. 4 ITS, located at the Edmonton Normal School, reporting on 1 March 1942.

On 23 April, Peden was assigned to flight school at No. 5 EFTS at RCAF Station High River.

At High River, the new pilot learned to fly in de Havilland Tiger Moths, and on 16 May 1942, he made his first solo flight.

After roughly 60 hours of flying time, Peden was given the option to transfer either to No. 7 SFTS in Macleod again, or to No. 10 SFTS at RCAF Station Dauphin.

As the latter was a short train trip to his home in Winnipeg, he elected to go to Dauphin, leaving High River on 3 July.

At Dauphin Peden trained extensively in Cessna Cranes.

This training included formation flying.

On 16 October 1942 he made his final flight at Dauphin, at which point his total flying time was approximately 225 hours.

Peden left the station on 24 October, and while on leave at home, he received his commission in the mail on Monday, 26 October.

On 7 November 1942, Peden reported to No. 1 "Y" Depot in Halifax.

In the afternoon on the 20th, he was ordered to pack, and was subsequently boarded on the ship S.S. Cavina.

The crossing took 17 days, and the ship docked in Avonmouth.

Upon disembarkment, Peden took the train to No. 3 Personnel Receiving Centre, RCAF in Bournemouth.

Peden was sent to the Personnel Receiving Centre in Bournemouth where he was issued with battledress, identification, and clothing coupons.

Along with ten other Canadian airmen, he billeted in the Burley Court Hotel.

On 22 December he was granted seven days' leave, and subsequently traveled to Glasgow to spend Christmas with his aunt.

On 29 January 1943, Peden was assigned to a fill-in posting for 12 days with the 14th Army Tank Regiment (Calgary Regiment), stationed in Worthing.

On 18 May 1943 Peden reported to No. 12 Operational Training Unit at RAF Chipping Warden to begin his bomber training in Vickers Wellingtons.

Peden noted his first impressions of the Wellington, saying, "[o]ur very first glimpse of the Wellington IIIs, squatting heavily in the dispersals ringing the drome at Chipping Warden, made us sharply aware of the nearer presence of the God of War. For the Wellingtons looked very much like what they were, battle-tested operational heavy bombers [...]."

He is best known for his 1979 memoir A Thousand Shall Fall, which former director of the Canadian Army Historical Section, C. P. Stacey, called "the best book any Canadian has written about his war experiences, and one of the best books about the war that has been written anywhere."

After returning on 10 February, on the 26th he was posted to No. 6 EFTS at RAF Sywell.

During this period, Peden and three other airmen billeted with a family in Northampton.

While at Sywell, Peden continued his training in Tiger Moths, and in March was certified to fly with a bombaimer.

On 23 March he was assigned to No. 20 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit at RAF Kidlington.

The course at Kidlington included ground school, solo flying in Oxfords, cross-country flights to practise navigation, night flying, and beam approach training.

Prior to his 18th birthday, Peden had become intent on joining the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).