Venugopal, Bandi Sriramulu (Leading Aircraftman)

CWGC LF Harvard An RCAF Press Release raised in India, 5 June 1943, reads as follows: "Twenty-five members of the Indian Air Force have sailed for Canada as cadet officers to be trained under the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, it was learned today. They are included in a batch of 60, the rest going to the United Kingdom, the first Indians to be trained under the Empire plan. "The group is composed of Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Parsees and Anglo-Indians. The average age is 19. Following their training in Canada they will be sent to operational schools in Britain to learn battle tactics. "Included among the cadet group were: Ian McGuire, 19, who was evacuated from Burma when the Japs walked in; A.S. Latiff, who in civilian life was a railway traffic officer, N.H. Jaffry, who after taking his bachelor of science degree was a medical student, and S. Balakumaren, who is a bachelor of engineering. "None of the group has ever been outside the limits of India and Burma before, and all looked forward to going exactly to the other side of the world." I was only dimly aware of an RIAF presence in Canada, principally because the (for Commonwealth air force personnel killed in or near Canada and with no known graves) included one Bandi Sriramuli Venugopal, killed 2 January 1944 in Harvard AH190 of No. 41 Service Flying Training School.