Ken Maslen grew up in prewar London. When the war broke out he served on a tugboat, until he saw his chance to join the RAF’s Air Sea rescue branch. He served there in a variety of English Channel postings through the first half of the war, where he was involved in many rescues. Later in the war he was transferred to the Far East, where he continued his rescue duties off the east coast of India and into the Burma theatre.
We met Ken through the Royal Canadian Legion on Peard Avenue, when many Crestwood students have volunteered at Remembrance Day dinners. He came to participate in this project in November 2009, where students Chris Cho and Turner St. John Leite took the lead. He has since returned to Crestwood on several occasions, to present to classes and to do additional interviews. In the summer of 2016 Mr. Masters and Rory Peckham visited him in the Sunnybrook Veterans Wing.
Videos
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- 1. Ken Maslen - Introduction.mp4
- 2. The Shipping Federation - The Tugboat.mp4
- 3. The Blitz.mp4
- 4. The Battle of Britain - Propaganda.mp4
- 5. Life on the Tugboat.mp4
- 6. Training.mp4
- 7. Air Sea Rescue in the Channel; Under Fire.mp4
- 8. Finding the Downed Pilots.mp4
- 9. The Types of Rescue Boats.mp4
- 10. Experiences in Air Sea Rescue.mp4
- 11. Memories of Americans and Germans.mp4
- 12. The MTBs.mp4
- 13. Friends.mp4
- 14. From Europe to Asia.mp4
- 15. Under Attack; Setting up Air-Sea Rescue Bases.mp4
- 16. Japanese Soldiers.mp4
- 17. India.mp4
- 18. The Crew.mp4
- 19. VE and VJ Day.mp4
- 20. Return to Civilian Life.mp4
- 21. Postwar Life; Canada.mp4
