SHERMAN, Edna Alice
Age at Death: 27
Rank Sergeant
Unit Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division
Service Number W303594
Place of Burial Fort Saskatchewan Cemetery, AB
Date of Birth 1918.01.31
Place of Birth Lashburn SK
Enlistment May 15, 1942, Edmonton AB
Date of Death 1944.11.02
Daughter of Fred A. Sherman and Maud Lavinia Sherman, of Fort Saskatchewan
Edna grew up with a sister and five brothers, three of whom were Sergeant Pilots with the RCAF. (One, Sgt. Pilot Charles Arthur Sherman, was killed in action in September 1942.) Prior to enlisting, she worked as a telephone and switchboard operator with Alberta Government Telephones for three years. Her recruiter assessed her as “Good type of girl. Pleasing appearance. Keen. Alert.” She was taken on as a telephone operator and after consistently strong reviews from her evaluators, in September 1943 she was promoted to Acting Sergeant.
Only a few days later, she was admitted to hospital with abdominal pain and diagnosed with acute appendicitis. She had an appendectomy that November and died from complications following the surgery. One of her letters of reference, from a local reverend, had referred to her “many friends,” and her funeral in Fort Saskatchewan was well attended.