Zatonski, Alexander R.

F/O Alexander E. (Alex) Zatonski, only son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Zatonski, 10 Buffalo Street, although an adopted son of Canada, never forgot his native Poland and when she was in distress in 1939, he sought to go to her aid. Arriving in England he found it impossible to secure transportation to the end of his journey and so instead he joined the

Royal Air Force and was trained as a pilot. He was attached to a fighter squadron near London and in November, 1940, while flying a Hurricane, was shot down in an air battle and bailed out from a height of 24,000 feet, landing in the English Channel. He suffered a bullet wound in one leg and was painfully burned. After convalescence in a hospital at Torquay, he returned to his duties. He lost his life on December 6, 1941, over Africa, and was buried at El Gubbi, Libya. Born in Poland on January 11, 1915, Alex was quite small when he came with his family to Canada and Brantford. Thus it was that when he first attended Central School, his first task was to learn to speak English. He was a popular officer in the Central School Skylark Club. Later at the Collegiate Institute he graduated with his matriculation. While in the East, he was married to Miss Alexandra Roman, and they have a son, John Alexander.

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