Lloyd Frederick Berryman

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Lloyd Berryman in front of his Spit --------------------------------------------------

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At Aylmer and Fingal

St. Thomas, March 19, 1943 (Special) — A young London, Ont., airman, Donald F. O'Neil, headed one of the largest classes to graduate from No. 14 Service Flying Training School, Aylmer, this afternoon, while an R.A.F. man from the London district of England, Sgt. H. Chesney, took the school honors in a class of wireless air gunners who graduated at No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School, Fingal. Chesney took a refresher course at Fingal after taking training in the American South. Group Capt .J. H. Keens, A.F.C., commanding officer of the Technical Training School and a member of Collishaw's circus in the first Great War, presented the wings at Aylmer. More than 70 per cent of the graduates are Australians.
Ontario graduates at Aylmer, all leading aircraftmen, included W. T. Alison, Galt; W. G. Austin, D. F. O'Neil, R. B. Greene, London; L. F. Berryman, Hamilton; J. T. Bolton, Weston; J. F. MacDonald, Trenton; J. H. Broad, G. B. Overand, N. G. Zolumoff, Toronto; W. F. Schram, Chatham.

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COMMISSIONED March 29, 1943 - Pilot Officer Lloyd F. Berryman, son of Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Berryman, 657 King street east, was awarded his commission after graduation as a pilot recently from No. 14 S.F.T.S., Aylmer, Ontario.

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Many Ontario Fliers Granted Commissions

14 May 1943 - No. 1 Training Command, R.C.A.F., yesterday announced a list of Ontario men receiving commissions [P/O]. The list includes:
Sgts. L. J. Berry, M. E. Linkert, R. W. Linkert, K. G. Gillmor, W. Kubicki, L. F. Berryman, pilots, and Sgt. H. A. Dunham, navigator, all of Hamilton.

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PROMOTED

February 23, 1944 — Flying Officer Lloyd F. Berryman, son of Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Berryman, 657 King street east, has been promoted to that rank. Flying Officer Berryman has been overseas since April, 1943, and is a fighter pilot.

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HAMILTON DISTRICT AIRMEN IN INVASION PRELUDE SWEEPS

May 1, 1944 - Brave young air officers from Hamilton and district are among Canadian pilots in a Spitfire squadron which has been giving the coast of France a general pre-invasion softening up for some weeks now. Two are Flight-Lieut. George Johnson, 102 Beechwood avenue, and Flight-Lieut. Harold Nixon, son of Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Nixon, 137 Stinson street, who are both doing a second tour of operations. There's also F/O Lloyd Berryman, 657 King street east, and P/O Harold Kramer, of Port Colborne, who are on their first tour.

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BEHIND THE LINES - Interview

August 18, 1944 - Flying Officer Lloyd Berryman, whose parents reside at 657 King street east, was interviewed recently on a Normandy landing field from where he is operating aircraft against the retreating Germans. The interview was recorded and will be heard this evening at 8.15 o'clock over CKOC. The recording was made on August 3 and rushed to Canada by bomber mail.

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FLYING OFFICER BERRYMAN IN AIR BATTLES OVER HOLLAND
Takes Toll of Enemy During Terrific Action in Nijmegen Bridge Area

September 29, 1944 - While F/L George Johnson continues to lead Hamilton airmen in the destruction of enemy aircraft over France, the Low Countries and Germany, dispatches from the front line indicate the competition is keen and other Hamiltonians with new successes are crowding the leading scorer.

Downs Three
Over the Nijmegen Bridge yesterday, according to a Canadian Press story today, F/O Lloyd F. Berryman, son of Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Berryman, 657 King street east, destroyed three enemy aircraft between dusk and dawn.
"Most potent destroyer was F/L Don Laubman, of Edmonton, who shot down four and damaged two others. F/O Lloyd Berryman, of Hamilton, Ont. was the next highest scorer with three destroyed and one damaged," according to the story.
"Laubman, whose total 'bag' now is 13 — all since D-day — downed his first two of the Wednesday total when his squadron, led by F/L Rod Smith, D.F.C., of Regina, eliminated eight German planes in an early morning patrol over the bridge area. Smith also shot down two to raise his total to 11.
"F/L C. W. Fox, Guelph, Ont., and Berryman each destroyed two others, and Fox damaged another two.
"Laubman completed his score in two separate afternoon patrols, while Berryman destroyed his third enemy plane and crippled another. Also during the afternoon F/O D. H Jamieson, D.F.C., of Toronto, shot down a pair of Focke-Wulf 190's and F/L Baz Dean, of Cowansville, Que., drew his first blood by destroying a Focke-Wulf."

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GALLANT AIRMAN RETURNS; WINS D.F.C. IN AIR BATTLES
F.O. Lloyd Berryman's Score Includes Four Planes Downed,
Three Damaged in Combat

November 10, 1944 - So the Germans never learn? You can't tell a Spitfire pilot that. Ever since the blazing days of 1940, when the little "Spit" cut Goering's bomber fleets to pieces, the word "Spitfire" to a German pilot has been synonymous with sudden death. And, despite the fact that they are flying excellent aircraft over the Continent today, the Nazis still dread the trim little British fighter, still the finest of its type in the air. The sight of 30 Germans fleeing before two lone Spitfires in the flurry of air war over Holland last September was a common one.

Meets Ten Boches in Clouds
This was the assurance to-day of a Hamilton Spitfire pilot, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down three German Focke-Wulf 190's on September 28 over the Nijmegen Bridge. He is Flying Officer Lloyd F. Berryman, son of Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Berryman, of 657 King street east. His total bag of enemy aircraft is four destroyed and three damaged. And, like other members of his squadron which followed the advancing Allied ground troops up from Normandy and through Belgium into Holland, he has a large number of destroyed German transport vehicles to his credit — and one locomotive.
Flying Officer Berryman said that he shot down his first Hun over the bridge which the Germans were attempting desperately to destroy to prevent the flow of equipment and reinforcements to the 1st British Airborne Army at Arnhem and Nijmegen, on a morning sweep. Eight Spits met some 15 enemy fighter craft. He was flying alone in the afternoon when he met ten Germans high in the clouds, and shot down one. Coming out of the clouds on his way home, he ran into two more — one got away. Thirty German planes were destroyed in three days in the battle for the vital bridge.

Germans Deteriorating
His other "kill" was made over Cannes last July when he downed a Messerschmitt.
"German planes are very good, but their pilots have deteriorated," Flying Officer Berryman asserted. "They will only attack in groups of 40 to 50, and they are scared of Spitfires; 30 of them will run from two lone Spits."
Best fighter pilots in the Allied air force? By long odds the Canadians. "I've seen them all, and the Canadians are still the best — they are the individualists," he said.
Warmest welcome given Allied servicemen? From the Belgians. "The people of Belgium were absolutely wonderful," he declared. Recalling how they swarmed by the thousand around the Spitfires, when they landed in the Brussels airport, a few hours after the Germans had fled, he said; "They kept the cafes and stores open 24 hours a day for two weeks in Brussels, and 'jitterbugged' in the streets all day long."

Indescribable Destruction
Flying Officer Berryman told of the indescribable destruction and confusion of enemy transport on the French highways after the Canadian break-through at Falaise. "They jammed the roads, bumper to bumper - they were traveling through fields and lanes that led nowhere; they didn't know where they were going."
He recalled flying over a junction of four main roads, with streams of German vehicles coming in all directions, meeting at the junction, directions, and stopped, apparently attempting to decide who had the right-of-way. The Spitfires settled the argument.
Flying Officer Berryman spent six weeks in a British hospital after his Spitfire crashed and went up in flames while landing on a home field last year. He was badly burned and scarred about the face and body.
Flying Officer Berryman enlisted with the R.C.A.F. in March, 1942, and was awarded his wings and commission at Aylmer. He was posted overseas 18 months ago. A former student at Westdale Collegiate and High School of Commerce, he was employed at the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company before his enlistment.

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BERRYMAN, F/O Lloyd Frederick (J24513) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.412 Sq.
Award effective 24 November 1944 as per London Gazette of that date and
AFRO 1/45 dated 5 January 1945.

In September 1944 this officer, against tremendous odds, destroyed three enemy aircraft and damaged another. On a subsequent occasion Flying Officer Berryman engaged a superior number of enemy aircraft. His own aircraft sustained severe damage but he destroyed one enemy aircraft and damaged another. He has achieved much success against ground targets. Flying Officer Berryman has displayed a fine fighting spirit and his devotion to duty has been of a high order.

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WIN FURTHER HONOUR

24 November 1944 - Two of Hamilton's crack Spitfire pilots, F/L George W. Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Johnson, of 102 Beechwood avenue, and Flying Officer Lloyd Berryman, whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Berryman, live at 657 King street east, have been awarded bars to their Distinguished Flying crosses. F/L Johnson has destroyed at least five enemy aircraft, three of them since D-day, and is now on his second tour of operations overseas. Flying Officer Berryman, who recently returned from overseas, has four "kills" to his credit, having shot down three German Focke-Wulf 190's in one day last September over the Nijmegen bridge.

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GALLANT AIRMEN OPERATED FROM SAME FLYING FIELD
Coveted Crosses Mark Distinguished Work
in Battering Supply Lines of Enemy

December 30, 1944 - Five Hamilton fighter pilots who helped chase the Germans across France, Belgium and Holland, have earned the air force award for bravery, the Distinguished Flying Gross. The total was raised to five today with reports from overseas that Flt.-Lieut John Lumsden, 21 Mapleside Avenue, and Flt.-Lieut. Harold d. Nixon, 137 Stinson street, had merited the decoration. All five operated from the same landing strip in France, battering Hun supply and communication lines.

Won Bar to Cross
Earlier it was reported that Flight Lieut. George W. Johnson, 102 Beechwood Avenue, had been awarded the D.F.C. and later a bar. He is a leading Hamilton ace, with at least eight enemy planes to his credit. Having completed operations, he is now doing an instructional tour in England.
Squadron Ldr. William A. Olmsted, D.F.C., of 15 Chedoke Avenue, won his decoration in France after considerable service in the Middle East.
Flying Officer Lloyd F. Berryman, D.F.C., 657 King street east, was another Hamilton pilot to win the D.F.C. in France.
Only two of the local airmen were with the same squadron but all operated from the same landing strip in Normandy.
About the time Flight Lieut. Nixon was reported missing, the Allied armies had started to move and the remaining Hamiltonians moved up with them.
By the time Flight Lieut. Berryman left for home, they were operating from Holland. Squadron Ldr. Olmsted is now in England, and will be home soon. Flight Lieut. Lumsden is believed to be still on ops. Flying from the original landing strip were two other Hamiltonians, and the record of five awards out of seven is considered a mighty fine score.

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Victories Include

4 / 0 / 1

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Veteran's Affairs pages on Berryman

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