Liston Anderson
| Date and Place of Birth: | May 4, 1911 Strathaven, Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Date and Place of Death: | July 30, 1943 England |
| Baseball Experience: | Amateur |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Military Unit: | Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Area Served: | European Theater of Operations |
Liston Anderson, the son of William and Jean Anderson, was born in
Strathaven, Lanarkshire in Scotland on May 4,
1911, and moved to Canada with his parents in July 1921.
He lived in Drumheller, Alberta and excelled as a local athlete.
Anderson played twelve seasons as a defenceman with the Drumheller
Miners in the Alberta Senior Hockey League. He was an outstanding
defensiveman and a teammate of Tommy Anderson (who, like Liston, was
born in Scotland), who went on to play professional hockey with the New
York Americans of the National Hockey League. Liston Anderson received
numerous offers to turn professional but chose instead to retain his job
with Canadian Utilities.
Liston was also a prominent member of
soccer, baseball and softball teams, pitching for the Drumheller Juniors
and Drumheller Merchants.
At nearby Rosedale’s annual Labor Day sports event on September 1,
1930, the Rosedale Seniors and Drumheller Juniors battled eight innings
to a 6-6 tie in the baseball tournament final. Lorne Nichols of Rosedale
and Liston Anderson of Drumheller had staged a hurling duel that
eventually had to be called on account of darkness.
In May 1935, Anderson played soccer for a select Alberta eleven, before
a crowd of 5,000, against the touring stars of the Scottish Football
Association. Losing to the Scots, 9-1, Anderson scored the lone goal for
the Canadians against his birth nation.
Anderson was married to the former Mary Malton of Empress, Alberta, and
prior to his enlistment he was employed by Canadian Utilities.
He joined the RCAF in May 1941, graduating as an observer and receiving
his commission in May 1942 at Rivers, Manitoba. Flying Officer Anderson
was assigned to submarine patrol work on the Canadian Atlantic Coast. He
also served at Montreal with Ferry Command as observer-navigator in a
Consolidated B-24 Liberator.
In February 1943, with Mary less than two months pregnant, Liston Anderson went overseas to Britain as a navigator/bomber.
Aged 32, he was killed on
active service aboard a bomber nicknamed "Trader Horn" on July 30, 1943.
Flying Officer Liston Anderson is buried at Llantwit Major Cemetery in
the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. His son, Liston L. G. Anderson, was
born on September 2, 1943, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
From left to right: Bill Anderson (father), Jean Anderson (mother), Liston, Mollie Anderson (wife), and John Anderson (brother).
Thanks to Liston L. G. Anderson and Deborah Malton Hodgkinson for their help with this biography.
Date Added: June 6, 2012 Updated May 2, 2014
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