4 Vintage Royal Military College of Canada RMC Place Mats Len Birchall Estate #1

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4 Vintage Royal Military College of Canada RMC Place Mats Len Birchall Estate #1:
$39.99

Air Commodore Leonard Joseph Birchall, CM, OBE, DFC, O.Ont, CD (6 July 1915 - 10 September 2004), \"The Saviour of Ceylon\", was a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) officer who warned of a Japanese attack on the island of Ceylon during the Second World War.Birchall was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1946, after his return to Canada for his work at prisoner of war camps. Leonard Birchall was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his part in detecting the attack on Ceylon and for alerting the Allies during that 1942 flight. In 1950, U.S. President Harry Truman appointed Birchall an officer of the Legion of Merit, saying: \"His exploits became legendary throughout Japan and brought renewed faith and strength to many hundreds of ill and disheartened prisoners.\"In the immediate postwar years, Birchall served on the Canadian attaché staff in Washington, D.C., then was a member of the Canadian NATO delegation in Paris. He later commanded a fighter base and was commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada from 1963 until his retirement from the Canadian Forces in 1967. In 2000, Birchall received the Order of Canada. In 2001, he was inducted into Canada\'s Aviation Hall of Fame. He was honorary colonel at the Royal Military College of Canada. Birchall was the only member of the Canadian military to have earned five clasps for his Canadian Forces Decoration (CD), representing 62 years of service with the Air Force. The only other person with five clasps was Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. (wikipedia)These items are from an estate sale that included many of Birchall\'s personal items.This is one of two listings for four (4) placemats. The two sets are of slightly different size, but this is only noticeable when they are placed against each other.This set measures approximately 15 3/8\" by 11 3/8\". There is light staining and scratching that is visible on close examination but overall, this set is in very good condition.See photos.