Gauthier, Joseph Victor Leo
Personal Information
Rank | P/O |
Forename(s) | Joseph Victor Leo |
Surname | Gauthier |
Gender | M |
Age | 26 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 03-03-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Henri Gauthier and Geraldine Gauthier (née Boyer), of Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Vickers Wellington III |
Serial Number | BK334 |
Markings | KW-B |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Hamburg Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 5A. A1. 4. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 168 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/17108 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 425 (Alouette) |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Outside Village Hall, Dishforth, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone and inscribed metal plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of the Canadian aircrew of 425 and 426 Sqns RCAF who served at RAF Dishforth, 1942-1945 |
Location | Village Green, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone, inscribed metal plaque and Maple Tree |
Memorial Text | A memorial, in French, to those Canadians who served at RAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 425 Sqn |
Location | Former Control Tower, Tholthorpe Airfield, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those Canadians who served at RAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 425 Sqn |
Miscellaneous Information
Joseph was born on 8 March 1916 at Montreal, Quebec. His parents were both born in Quebec, his father at St. Cecile and his mother at St. Constant. His mother died in 1935. He had a large number of siblings including sisters Simone, Lucille, and Madeleine, as well as eight brothers. Five of them serving with the AirForce, one of whom was in England. The schools he attended were St. Joseph 1923-1930 (Commercial), Le Plateau, 1930-1933 (Commercial) and Montreal Technical school 1935-1936 (Aviation motors). Between 1933-1939 Joseph worked for N.G. Valiquette Ltd. as a Service Man. He then became a bus driver for Montreal Tramways between 1939-1941, after which he enlisted. His interest in sports covered tennis, baseball, swimming, basketball and skiing and his hobby interests included radio repairs and electrical motor mechanics. |
Joseph enlisted on 8 July 1941 and after initial training was then sent to the U.K. He arrived on 15 April 1942 and then went through 6 AFU 9 June 1942, 23 OTU 14 July 1942, and on to 425 Squadron on 28 September 1942. It was from there that Joseph sadly lost his life on 3 March 1943. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 03-03-1943 |
End Date | 04-03-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Dishforth |
Day/Night Raid | Night (8% moon) |
Operation | Hamburg. 417 aircraft, 10 losses (2.4%). Clear conditions but PFF appear to have misread the H2S indications and confused some sandbanks in the Elbe estuary as being Hamburg docks. As a consequence the majority of the bombing took place on the small town of Wedel where some surprisingly important targets were hit. |
Reason for Loss | Crashed at Schenefeld, Germany |