Mysterious gift may harken back to Operation Exodus
At the age of 101, Allister MacDonald – Mac to his friends – has many stories to tell but these days he is looking to solve a mystery.
The Stayner resident received a gift that has sat on a top shelf, out of sight and mostly out of mind for more than 50 years. After his granddaughter started asking questions about it, MacDonald’s curiosity was once again piqued by the object.
The Second World War veteran was working as a civilian at Base Borden in 1972 when he was approached by a stranger.
“I thought he was a madman, waving his arms and saying ‘I’ve been looking for you for years,’” said MacDonald. “I remember him saying, ‘You’re the only one who cared.’ I still don’t know.”
The man gave MacDonald an ornate wooden candleholder with the inscription “For Mr. Mack Donald. Gift from Poland,” signed M. Bodzinski, June 1972.
He said the man was removed from the premises and looking back on it now, MacDonald wonders if the man was one of the thousands of prisoners of war that were rescued as part of Operation Exodus.
MacDonald had just turned 18 when he enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was called to go to Galt Aircraft School in January of 1942.
As an aircraft mechanic it had been MacDonald’s duty to investigate wreckage and return the aircraft to flying condition.
He was stationed in Leeming, Yorkshire, England from March 1943 until October 1945, where he worked as an aero engineer with 429 (Bison) Squadron, until he was transferred to Belgium to assist with Operation Exodus, the air evacuation of allied prisoners of war at the time of the armistice.
“The only reason us guys were there was to make sure the aircraft could get started,” said MacDonald.
Operation Exodus saw the repatriation of prisoners of War from camps in Europe. By April 1945 many Prisoner of War camps in occupied Europe had been liberated. Though free, the ex-prisoners were hundreds of miles from home with many suffering from illness, fatigue and starvation.
MacDonald describes Operation Exodus as mayhem and said he can’t imagine he made any special impression on any of the prisoners.
“It was a zoo,” he said. “They had been on the march for days.”
“You’ll never be able to describe it in a thoughtful way,” said MacDonald. “It’s rough thinking about it even now. How people even survived I don’t know.”
“By April 1945 many Prisoner of War camps in occupied Europe had been liberated. Though free, the ex-prisoners were hundreds of miles from home with many suffering from illness, fatigue and starvation. As ex-PoWs flooded into collection points throughoutEurope, it was clear that a swift method of repatriation was needed. Consequently, RAF bombers were tasked to fly the PoWs home,” according to the Royal Air Force Museum.
The first prisoners of war were repatriated beginning May 4 by air in RAF Bomber Command aircraft, which flew 2,900 sorties over the next 23 days, carrying 72,500 prisoners of war.
“At the height of the operation, the repatriation aircraft were arriving in Europe at a rate of 16 per hour bringing more than 1,000 people a day into British receiving camps.”
MacDonald, who served as mayor of Stayner in the 1970s and 1980s, celebrated his 101st birthday on Nov. 2.
At his age, says MacDonald, he has a renewed desire to know the meaning of the candle holder and see it put into the hands of someone who will cherish it.
