A celebration of life will be held next week for a member of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s Lancaster Bomber crew.
The museum will be holding the celebration on Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m., for Robert Joseph Cruse, a retired Aero Engine Technician and Flight engineer for the Royal Canadian Air Force who died earlier in July.
Cruse was also a retired police officer after 32 years on the force, and spent over 30 years as a volunteer member of the Lancaster Bomber crew at the museum.
He spoke with CHCH News about his experience rebuilding a plane that he took apart in 1952.
“The Lancaster that we are flying in today – only two in the world, and they’re still flying – is the same Lancaster that crashed in 1952 in Trenton that I had helped to take apart and send back to the contractor,” he said. “A lot of me in that Lancaster.”
Cruse was the Aide-de-camp for Lt. Governor of Ontario, Lincoln Alexander for five years and later received the Queen Elizabeth 60th anniversary Jubilee medal.
The retired technician wrote his obituary years ahead of his death and can be found here.
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