Carl Boggild was born November 3, 1922; he originally came from Denmark, but his parents moved to Canada when he was only one year old, so his real formative experiences took place in Nova Scotia, where his parents settled. Carl grew up in the southern part of the province, where he and his family lived a relatively good life in spite of the Great depression. With the coming of the war, Carl’s older brother chose the navy, so Carl opted for the air force, and was dispatched to the various bases of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, going from belleville to the Prairies before being sent overseas. In England, trained as a navigator-bombardier, Carl was assigned to 115 Squadron, and their Wellington bombers. In 1943, on only his 6th mission, Carl’s plane was shot down by a German night fighter. Carl ended up in german custody, and he was sent to Stalag Luft III, where he took part in the ill-fated great escape. He did not escape that night, but he did play a part in the tunnel construction. With the approach of the Soviets, the Germans marched the POWs off to a new location, and Carl and a fellow prisoner were able to escape, linking up with British troops not long after. He was sent back to England, and then to Canada, where he fell back into the rhythm of civilian life, working as a salesman for the Schwartz Spice Company.
We met Carl at the Sunnybrook Veterans’ Wing, where he was interviewed by a delegation of students in January 2018.
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