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Michael
Shakespeare Layton was born in England in 1914 but moved with his family
to Canada in 1924. He was educated in British Columbia and McGill
University before joining the Steel Company of Canada in Montreal. He
enlisted in the RCAF in 1940, earned an Observer Wing and a Commission
in 1941 and proceeded overseas. Following operational training he went
to 120 Squadron of RAF Coastal Command, participating in a number of
raids on German Ports. He also served with 1425 Special Flight
navigating a Liberator carrying Prime Minister Churchill’s party to
the Middle East and on to Moscow.
In
1942, 120 Squadron re-equipped with long range B-24 Liberator aircraft.
Several were detached to Iceland from where they could patrol the
‘Atlantic Gap’ southeast of Greenland where the German U-Boats were
causing heavy shipping losses threatening Britain’s supply lifeline.
In October, 1942 F/O Layton was the navigator of a Liberator ‘H’/120
guarding Convoy ONS 136 when they attacked and sunk U-597. Then on 8
December, 1942 his crew conducted the ‘Day To Remember’ patrol when
they attacked eight submarines, sinking one. The painting depicts that
famous patrol; first showing the transit to Convoy HX217 which F/O
Layton located with his usual superior navigation; then the sinking of
U-254 with six depth charges; third, the Norwegian Corvette
‘Potentilla’ observes the wreckage and advises, ”You Killed
Him”. An hour later two more submarines are spotted and attacked with
two remaining depth charges. Almost each hour thereafter a further
submarine was spotted and attacked with canon shells only, but the
U-Boats, unaware of that limitation dived to avoid a depth charge
attack. Liberator ’B’/120 landed back in Iceland after nearly 17
hours, eight patrolling HX217. For his part, F/O Layton was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order, the second RCAF Officer to be so decorated.
F/O
Layton carried out a number of War Bond Drive tours, one taking him to
his hometown of Montreal. He returned to Canada and helped train RCAF
Liberator crews operating from East Coast bases.
At war’s end, Michael Layton now a Squadron Leader, left the
RCAF to become the general manager of the Steel Company of Canada in
Montreal, then joined Canadian Vickers in 1958. He died in 1964, age 50.
The
painting by artist Don Connelly was donated to the Museum by The
Greenwood Art Association and is on display in the Museum. The morse
code in the painting decodes as “You killed him”.
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