Leonard Birchall

Leonard Birchall was a Canadian pilot who warned of a Japanese attack on the island of Ceylon during the Second World War. He was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 1915. He graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1937 and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. He flew anti-submarine and convoy patrols from Nova Scotia and then joined No. 413 Squadron RCAF in Britain. In 1942, he was sent to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to provide reconnaissance for the Allied forces. On 4 April 1942, he spotted a large Japanese fleet heading for Ceylon and managed to send a radio message before being shot down by enemy fighters. He and his crew were captured and tortured by the Japanese, but he refused to reveal any information. He spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war in various camps, where he showed courage and leadership. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1944 and released in 1945. After the war, he continued his service in the RCAF and rose to the rank of Air Commodore. He was the commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada from 1963 to 1967. He retired in 1967 and lived in Kingston, Ontario. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1979 and inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1981. He died of heart failure in 2004. He was known as the "Saviour of Ceylon" for his role in preventing a repeat of Pearl Harbor.