Bourque, Theodore Phillip
Personal Information
Rank | P/O |
Forename(s) | Theodore Phillip |
Surname | Bourque |
Gender | M |
Age | 20 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 25-04-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Wilbert Edward Bourque and Muriel Helen Bourque (née Smith), of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax III |
Serial Number | LV958 |
Markings | EY-O |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | France |
Burial/Memorial Place | Benestroff Communal Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Coll. grave 1-4. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 133 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/89946 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 78 |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Adjacent to Clubhouse, Breighton Airfield, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | Dedicated to all who served at this airfield and gave their lives during World War II |
Location | External, All Saints Church, Bubwith, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stone Memorial, inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | 78 Sqn 4 Group Bomber Command Yorkshire 1939 - 1945 To All Who Served |
Location | Internal, All Saints Church, Bubwith, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Wooden Board, Memorial Chapel featuring Cross made from Halifax wreckage |
Memorial Text | The 78 Sqn Memorial in the Churchyard was dedicated by the Bishop of Selby on 7th September 1986. RAF Breighton, two miles from this church was the Sqn's home from June 1943 to May 1945 |
Location | Outside "B" Hangar, RAF Benson, Oxfordshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone & Inscribed Slate Plaque |
Memorial Text | In proud memory of all who have lost their lives serving with 78 Sqn Royal Air Force "Nemo Non Paratus - Nobody Unprepared" |
Miscellaneous Information
Theodore was born on 27 September 1923 at Port Arthur/Fort William, Ontario. His father was born in Manitoba and his mother in Ontario. He had a sister Daphne and his father was shown as Constable E.W. Bourke. The schools he attended were St.Augustine’s, Vancouver. 1929-1938 (General), Oak Bay High, Vancouver 1938-1939 (Grade 9, part grade10). Vancouver Tech.1939-1940 (grade 10). The sports Theodore participated in were rugby and Canadian football and his hobby model aircraft. He also spent a year in the Sea Scouts at Oak Bay. He was a shipyard worker and was a clerk for Kelly Douglas in Victoria, 1940-1941 and then in a steel gang at V.M.D. Shipyards in Victoria 1941-1942 . |
Theodore enlisted on 9 November 1942 and after his initial training, embarked from New York on 8 October 1943 bound for the U.K. Arriving at 3 PRC on 17 0ctober 1943 he then proceeded to 1663 CU 20 December 1943, 41 Base 21 January 1944 and 78 Squadron on 24 February 1944. Sadly on 25 April 1944 Theodore was to lose his life from 78 Squadron. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/661/8 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/661/7 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 24-04-1944 |
End Date | 25-04-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Breighton |
Day/Night Raid | Night (6% moon) |
Operation | Karlsruhe. 637 aircraft, 19 losses (3.0%). A combination of cloud and a strong wind meant that PFF marked too far north of the target. As a result, most bombs fell outside the city and some aircraft bombed alternative targets as they were unable to find Karlsruhe. Opinion is divided about the casualties |
Reason for Loss | Both port engines failed and the order to bale out was issued. Crashed at Benestroff, ESE of Morhange, France |