Sheppard, Thomas Paul

One of Brantford's most promising citizens, Sub. Lieut. Thomas Paul Sheppard was lost to the community when the British Aircraft Carrier Avenger was torpedoed and sunk November 15, 1942, during the Allied landing operations in North Africa. A brilliant student at the University of Toronto, he volunteered, in response to a special appeal of the Canadian Government, and while still at school, to begin a course of instruction in secret war work for the British Admiralty. He formally became connected with the R.C.N.V.R. in February, 1941, after he secured his degree of Bachelor of Science. "Loaned" by Canada, he then proceeded to England where he took a further course in technical and research work. At that time his job was a military secret, but since then his family learned officially that he was a radar officer and in that capacity served on H.M.S. Duke of York when it carried Prime Minister Winston Churchill to America in December, 1941, and he was also the radar officer on H.M.S. Avenger when it travelled in the first large convoy to Murmansk, Russia. The eldest son of Mr., and Mrs. A. C. Sheppard, 141 Rawdon St., and born in Brantford on November 26, 1918, Paul attended Major Ballachey Public School and graduated from the Collegiate Institute. He was a member of St. Jude's Church and Sunday School. Since he went directly from the classroom to service for his country, Paul had no chance to establish himself in his career, but, like all busy people, he found time to do extra work and when a boy, he had a paper route for The Expositor. During his last summer vacation, he worked with the engineers who built No. 5 S.F.T.S. A good musician, he was a particularly apt student of the organ at Grace Church. In December, 1941, he was married to Miss Louise Klersey.

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