Leslie Walter Kerr was born on July 9th, 1919 in Spirit River, AB. Leslie Kerr’s father was one of the first dozen of the Edson Trail pioneers to settle in Spirit River. His father fought in World War I and II. Leslie is mentioned by his brother John in “Chepi Sepe”, p. 560 & 561 when he recalls going to Grande Prairie at the young age of 15 with his brother Leslie to try and enroll in the Army. However, their mother had instructed Leslie to tell the recruiting officer that John was underage and they would have to turn him down. She also talked Leslie into not join the Army, but instead waited for the call from the Royal Canadian Air Force; he enlisted on August 16th, 1940 into the Special Reserve branch. Prior to enlisting, Leslie worked at J. Dodges Grocery in Spirit River and he was interested in swimming, softball, tennis and hockey. During his RCAF intake it was noted that he was a “shy chap, very quiet, speaks in low tones…”. On July 16th, 1942 he was killed while on eastern coastal patrol flying, he was 23 years old. It was reported that Sergent Kerr’s aircraft crashed into the sea at Goose Bay near Wedgeport, NS; cause of crash was unknown. He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, BC.
- Chepi Sepe, p. 185 (image) & 559
- Pioneers of the Peace, p. 245