John Morton, a resident of Toronto, received his pilot training at Centralia with Course 75. G/C Fullerton assessed Morton as: “A good average student with quite a bit of natural skill. Quiet and works hard. Good commission material but not suitable for instruction.” Upon completion of his training at Centralia, Morton was posted overseas, where upon completion of advanced operational training, he was posted to 90 Squadron RAF.On D-Day operations, P/O Morton piloted Stirling bomber Maid of the Mist, bombing railway and road lines in Caen. P/O Morton was skipper of Lancaster PB198 on operations against Stuttgart, July 28/9, 1944. On the return trip, the bomber stream encountered night fighters. At 1:15 hours, a night fighter attacked PB198 and the bomber crashed in flames in the woods of Saulxures Les Bugneville. On crashing, one of several bombs exploded, and the aircraft was completely wrecked. The bodies of five airmen lay nearby. The body of the sixth airmen was found about 1000 metres from the crashed aircraft. The Germans allowed the citizens of Saulxures to remove the bodies of the crew but would not allow for a burial ceremony.
