Having undergone his initial training in Canada, he volunteered for the role of air gunner and was subsequently sent to the United Kingdom.
It was during his time at 14 OTU that he became a member of a crew commanded by Les Knight, which saw them converting onto the Vickers Wellington, and subsequently the Avro Manchester.
Numerous decorations were bestowed on various members of 617 Sqn following Operation Chastise, however Sutherland was not officially recognised for his part in the raid.
This decision not to reward the entire complement of his crew was said to have weighed heavily on Knight, who had been awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
Despite the limitations of performance, Knight managed to climb his aircraft to 1,400 ft (426.7 m) and was able to fly over the Dutch border before ordering his crew to bail out.
Issued with false papers stating he was a labourer working on the fortifications of Cherbourg, Sutherland was able to make his way to Paris from where he was subsequently passed down the Chemin de la Liberté escape route to Spain and on to Gibraltar.
As a consequence of having transferred through various components of an evasion line, Sutherland was barred from undertaking any further operations (no airman who had evaded capture was again permitted to fly over occupied Europe for security reasons) and he returned to Canada at the end of 1943.
He gained a degree in forestry, graduating from the University of British Columbia in 1957 following which he worked for the Alberta Forest Service.
He returned to Europe in 2010, and met up with some of the people who had been part of the Chemin de la Liberté evasion line and who had assisted him in his escape.