Mount MacFarlane is named after Flight Lieutenant Ronald Ernest MacFarlane, D.F.M.
“Ronnie” MacFarlane was born in Chilliwack and attended Chilliwack High School. He was prominent in athletics and was an active member of Cooke’s Presbyterian Church. He worked for Pickards until he joined the R.C.A.F. in February 1941. Ronnie trained as a pilot, and received his wings in September. In October he went overseas and during the year captained a Wellington bomber. A veteran of several operations against targets in Italy and Germany, MacFarlane was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for gallant and distinguished services receiving the award at a Buckingham Palace investiture. When over the Ruhr MacFarlane’s Lancaster bomber was hit and one crewman was killed and another injured. MacFarlane avoided three German night fighters by diving to 80 feet above the sea. Continuing evasive manoeuvres, the Lancaster was shot up by the three night fighters and pursued by five others. Despite the enemy’s efforts, MacFarlane landed safely at base. On the night of his crew’s loss, MacFarlane was piloting a Lancaster that was shot down by German night fighter Oblt Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, the highest scoring German night fighter pilot of the Second World War and MacFarlane became his 38th victim. Schnaufer destroyed 121 allied aircraft during the war and on the night of December 16, 1943 he destroyed four Lancasters. MacFarlane’s aircraft exploded over the Banco polder and three members of the crew are recorded on the Runnymede Memorial and five buried at Lemsterland. The crew members were Flying Officer L.E. Thompson R.C.A.F., Sergeants J.E. Clarke, L.D. Wilson, F.R. Westall, D.B. Harvey, J. Ireland and E.B.E. Jordan of the R.A.F. Schnaufer survived the war (Ferguson, 2009).
In 1947, geographical features were named by an agency of the federal government, the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical names after receiving a list of names of Canadian servicemen from Chilliwack who were killed during the Second World War From Canada’s Department of National Defence. The names were divided by province and were to be assigned to geographical features close to the place of enlistment (Grainger, 1998, p.82).
Mount MacFarlane is located southeast of Chilliwack in the same range as Mount Slesse, south of Pierce Lake.
- Grainger, N. (1998). The Mountain Project.Chilliwack, B.C.: Neil Grainger
- Ferguson, P. (2009). Chilliwack War Memorial. Online exhibit retrieved from http://www.chilliwackmuseum.ca/war-memorial/WW2_M_names.html
Photograph caption: Flight Lieutenant Ronald Ernest MacFarlane, D.F.M. [Chilliwack Museum and Archives]