In 2020 a survey of military headstones in Brechin Cemetery was carried out to identify missing names of servicemen/women from the Brechin War Memorial.

On one badly weathered headstone a closer inspection revealed details of two Canadians killed during WWII. They were brothers and the sons of a Swiss mother and Scottish (Brechin) father. John Balfour Gray was a watch maker in Brechin and was the first family member to leave Brechin in several generations. Both parents had emigrated to Canada to make a better life for themselves and their family.

In 1939 the outbreak of war took a terrible toll on the Gray family. Quietly raising a family of three in British Columbia but proud to support their adopted country in fighting fascism. Both sons, John and Robert, enlisted, both were killed in action. John Balfour Gray continued working as a jeweller and watch maker in Canada until his death in 1949.

Flight Sergeant John (Jack) Balfour Gray was killed serving with 144 Squadron RAF in 1942 and is buried in Doncaster, England. Brother, Robert Hampton (Hammy) Gray enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and qualified as a pilot serving in several operational theatres throughout the war. Elements of his training brought him to HMS Condor, near Arbroath.

Hampton Gray would have regularly flown in the Angus skies and passed over Brechin the birthplace of his father. On the morning of the 9th of August 1945 he flew his Corsair from the British aircraft carrier HMS Formidable. Attacking Japanese warships, he repeatedly carried out sorties against the heavily defended fleet.

On his final bombing run he was shot down and killed. His body has never been recovered. For his peerless bravery on that day, he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On the 9th of August the Japanese surrendered after the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

There are many tributes to Gray’s heroic act of self-sacrifice. One of the most moving is a simple granite cairn overlooking Onagawa Bay where his Corsair crashed.

The only known instance of a monument in Japan honouring an Allied serviceman. In addition, a bust of Gray is one of 14 life-size statues and busts unveiled in Ottawa in 2006 as part of ‘The Valiants Memorial’. This depicts key figures from Canada’s proud military history.

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum near Hamilton, Ontario, displays a Corsair Mark IV, which carries the markings of Gray’s aircraft. Mountains, lakes, buildings, plaques, and several Canadian associations also honour his memory.

John Balfour Gray was a proud Scot and Brechiner who never forgot his roots.

His strong family links with Brechin and the highest gallantry award of a Victoria Cross was an almost forgotten story in his hometown. The chance discovery of a dilapidated headstone in Brechin Cemetery has reignited interest, and pride, in a tale of courage and of making the ultimate sacrifice during wartime.

"Having a street named after him in the exciting new Scotia Homes development Brechin West ensures that his name will never be forgotten. Thanks to the sterling efforts of Scotia homes: ‘Brechin Remembers’."