Name: Malcolm Allen Canty Rank: Flight Sergeant Service No: R/62966 Service: Royal Canadian Air Force No. 250 Squadron (Royal Air Force) Date of Birth: August 1, 1921 Place of Birth: St. John, New Brunswick Date of Enlistment: September 30, 1940 Place of Enlistment: No.1 Mobile Depot Recruiting Station (Yarmouth, NS) Address at Enlistment: Hebron, Yarmouth Co., NS Age at Enlistment: 18 Height: 5 feet, 8 inches Trade: Student Marital Status: Single Religion: United Church Next of Kin: Isaac Leslie Canty (Father) Hebron, Yarmouth Co., NS Date of Death: December 11, 1941 Age at Death: 20 Memorial: Alamein Memorial (Egypt) Memorial Reference: Column 246. The 22nd name on the WWII list of the Yarmouth War Memorial Commemorated on page 25 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on January 24 Malcolm was the son of Isaac Leslie Canty (1891-1959) and Gertrude Blanche (Allen) Canty (1894- 1993), of Hebron, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia. He was the brother of William Leslie and Caroline Helen Canty. The family moved to Hebron, Yarmouth Co., NS when Malcolm was 13 years of age. He attended the Yarmouth Academy in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia successfully completing the Grade 11 Provincial Examination in August, 1940. He joined the RCAF in September, 1940. He completed his air training in Canada and the United Kingdom and was posted to the Middle East on September 30, 1941. He joined 250 RAF Squadron on November 1, 1941. On December 11, 1941, the Squadron was ordered to do a patrol over enemy territory, and during this a number of enemy aircraft were encountered with the result that a combat took place. All the pilots were fully engaged, but from enquiries Malcolm was last seen in a dog-fight with another enemy aircraft. On returning to the landing ground, it was ascertained that one of the Tomahawk aircraft of the Squadron was missing, the pilot of which was Flight Sergeant Malcolm Canty. His aircraft, Tomahawk IIB AN344, went down approximately 30 miles from Tobruk. As late as 1952, efforts to recover the body were still unsuccessful as the area of the crash was strewn with unexploded mines and highly dangerous to cover. His name is inscribed on the Alamein Memorial (Egypt).

Malcolm Allen Canty

Sources and Information: Commonwealth War Graves Commission Canadian Virtual War Memorial Photo Credit: Sharon Davis (Niece of Malcolm Canty) Newspaper Clipping: Argyle Township Court House & Archives

Memorial in Yarmouth Mountain Cemetery, Yarmouth NS