Leonard Birchall Air Commodore Leonard Joseph Birchall , CM , OBE , DFC , O.Ont , CD ( July 6 , 1915 - September 10 , 2004 ) , `` The Saviour of Ceylon '' S/L Leonard Birchall . Map indicates location of Japanese encounter during Ceylon incident . Leonard Joseph Birchall was born on July 6 , 1915 , in St . Catharines , Ontario . He served in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals , then , in 1937 , he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force to train as a pilot . After the start of World War II , he flew convoy and anti-submarine patrols from Nova Scotia . In early 1942 , he joined 413 Squadron , then based in the Shetland Islands and flew patrols over the North Sea . After the Japanese successes in South-East Asia , the squadron was sent to Ceylon to provide a reconnaissance force . On April 4 , 1942 , only two days after arrival , Squadron Leader Birchall was flying a Royal Air Force Catalina flying boat that was patrolling the ocean to the south of Ceylon . Eight hours into the mission , as the plane was about to return to base , the lookouts spotted ships on the horizon . Investigation revealed a large Japanese fleet , including five aircraft carriers , headed for Ceylon , which at that time was the base for the Royal Navy 's Eastern Fleet . Birchall 's crew managed to send out a radio message , but the Catalina was soon shot down . Three crewmen were killed and the others , including Birchall , spent the rest of the war as prisoners . The attack went ahead despite Birchall’s signal , but because of him the British were prepared and inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese . These losses later had repercussions both in the battle of the Coral Sea and again in the battle of Midway . Birchall’s heroism did not end with that exploit . As the senior Allied officer in four successor Japanese POW camps the resistance he lead decreased the Allied death rate from an average of 30% to less then 2% . His diaries written during his captivity and buried , formed the basis of a number of Allied wartime trails at which Birchall testified . Writing after the war , Winston Churchill called Birchall the `` Saviour of Ceylon '' and said that if the British fleet had been defeated at Ceylon , then North Africa would have been lost to the Germans . During his time in the Japanese prisoner of war ( POW ) camps , Birchall repeatedly stood up to the Japanese and demanded fair treatment of the prisoners , in compliance with the Geneva Convention . In his first camp , he struck a Japanese soldier who was forcing a wounded Australian to work . This earned Birchall a severe beating and solitary confinement , but won him the respect of the other POWs . While in the camps , Birchall kept a set of diaries that detailed deaths and mistreatment by the guards . In 1944 , Birchall encountered a situation in which sick men were being forced to work on the docks . He ordered all of the men to stop working until the sick were excused . Birchall was beaten and sent to a special discipline camp , where he again was beaten . He was liberated on August 27 , 1945 by American troops . Birchall was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire ( OBE ) in 1946 , after his return to Canada . The citation , in part , read : `` he continually displayed the utmost concern for the welfare of fellow prisoners with complete disregard for his own safety . His consistent gallantry and glowing devotion to his men were in keeping with the finest traditions of the service '' . He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in detecting the attack on Ceylon . In 1950 , US 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 . `` Birchall was a member of the prosecuting team at the Japanese war crime trials . His diaries were used in evidence . He served on the Canadian attaché staff in Washington , D.C. , then was a member of the Canadian NATO delegation in Paris . He commanded a fighter base and later was commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada . He retired from the RCAF in 1967 , rather than be associated with the unification of the Armed Forces . He later served as honorary colonel of 413 Squadron in the Air Reserve . He was an official observer during Sri Lanka 's general election of 1994 . Birchall was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1999 . He 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 . Birchall died in Kingston , Ontario at the age of 89 . External links Order of Canada citation The Japanese Ceylon Attack and Afterwards - An Address By Wing Commander Leonard Birchall , D.F.C. to the Empire Club , Toronto , October 18th 1945 Leonard Birchall : The Saviour of Ceylon - This two-hour documentary documents the wartime experiences of this extraordinary soldier highlighted by personal interviews Categories : 1915 births | 2004 deaths | Canadian military personnel | Members of the Order of Canada | Members of the Order of Ontario | Officers of the Order of the British Empire | Recipients of the Legion of Merit 