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Last of Canada's WW1 Fighter Pilots Dies...
Toronto- *
Henry Botterell, the last of Canada's World War 1 fighter pilots has died. He was 106.
Botterell died Friday in a Toronto nursing home, officials at the residence said on Tuesday.
He was one of the estimated 15 remaining Canadian veterans of World War 1, and the Department of Veteran Affars considered him the last fighter pilot from the 1914-1918 conflict.
A bank employee who joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916, Botterell crashed during a training run before his first mission, then recovered and rejoined the service six months later.
He was credited with shooting down a German observation balloon and told dramatic stories of survival in aerial battles.
"I had good hands", he said at an air force celebration four years ago. "I didn't have the fighting acumen of some... I was just a bank clerk. I wasn't one of the very best, but I had my share of action"
In one close call, a bullet ripped through his ear and smashed his goggles.
"I went out like a light for a few minutes, and I recovered just before I crashed," he said.
After returning from the war, Botterell never piloted a plane again.
The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 7, 2003
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7 January 2003, 03:59 PM
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