Pathfinder
His priority of getting to WW2 became bringing everyone home
by
Lionel Bennett
In the spring of 1940, on a path barely lit by a thin, crescent moon, a schoolteacher with a hard-held dream sets out on a sixteen-mile trek through Ontario bush. Arriving in time to catch the midnight train, he settles in for the ride to Winnipeg, where he intends to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force. His journey is just beginning. The schoolteacher is Gordon Wellington Bennett, a young man whose passion for flight and determination to serve lead him to pilot training, then overseas to England, where he becomes a flying instructor—and meets the love of his life, Stella, and starts a family. But all of this fades to a blurry background as the war intensifies. When Gordon is tasked as a bomber pilot, his family expands to include his crew—six young men, all seeking honour and glory, all grappling with the horrific realities of war. From here, Gordon’s journey becomes one of dogged survival. At the centre of it all is the impossible question of morality. Confounded by his role in the devastation, Gordon, a secular humanist, seeks answers with the guidance of Father Charles Brimley, a retired Anglican priest who becomes an important mentor. Based on true events, Pathfinder tells the heartbreaking coming-of-age of one young Canadian man, a man whose gallantry earns him a Distinguished Flying Cross, a man with a dream and a unique story, just like every other man who served his country during the deadliest conflict in human history.
Lionel Bennett is the son of Officer Gordon Bennett. Using logbooks, squadron debriefing notes, written accounts of WWII experiences, and personal interview material gleaned over drams of Sheep Dip in Gordon’s eighty-eighth year, Lionel began to formulate a story based on the true events of his father’s life. Pathfinder is the striking result. A member of the Canadian Heritage Warplane Museum, a flight enthusiast, and a sailor, Lionel finds home just outside of Marmora, Ontario with his wife, Laurane, where they enjoy the local wildlife and their blended family of three sons, two daughters, and ten grandchildren.
Contributors
- Author
- Lionel Bennett
- Editor
- Alex Schultz
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