Gordon Wallace Hirtle J/20684 Flying Officer 407 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force July 22, 1920 Mill Village, Queens Co., Nova Scotia October 21, 1941 Halifax, Nova Scotia Liverpool, Nova Scotia 20 5 feet, 7½ inches Fair Blue Brown Accounting Clerk Presbyterian Married Florence Lucretia Hirtle (Mother) Liverpool, NS August 20, 1943 23 St. Augustine Churchyard Heanton Punchardon, North Devon District, Devon, England Row Q Grave 6 Commemorated on Page 171 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on April 9 Gordon Wallace Hirtle was the son of Wallace Hector Hirtle (1895-1959) and Florence Lucretia (Moreau) Hirtle (1897-1975) of Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Gordon was the brother of Beatrice Matilda, Anita Ledwith (1926-2016), and Evelyn Elizabeth (1922-2001). He was the husband of Muriel Pauline May (Schupe) Hirtle (1920-2008), and the father of Sybil Charlene Hirtle (b. July 3, 1943). Gordon and Muriel were married in Liverpool, on April 21, 1942. Gordon trained in Canada and received his Pilot’s Flying Badge on November 6,1942. He embarked Canada on December 13, 1942, and disembarked in the United Kingdom on December 29, 1942. In England he served with No. 24 Operational Training Unit and was assigned to 407 Squadron on July 29, 1943. RCAF 407 Squadron, a part of RAF Coastal Command, was tasked with protecting friendly shipping from possible German u-boat attacks. On August 20, 1943, Gordon was one of five crew members on Vickers Wellington (#MP652) aircraft of 407 Squadron on air operation from RAF Chivenor. On returning to RAF Chivenor, it was redirected to another landing situation. The Wellington aircraft hit high ground and, as a result, crashed at Buncombe Hill in Somerset, killing the entire five-men crew, including Flying Officer Hirtle. The five airmen who perished in the accident were RCAF Warrant Officer Class I James Harold Clancy, (Windsor, Ontario) Age 25 RCAF Warrant Officer Roy Arnold Clark, (Liverpool, Nova Scotia) Age 22 RCAF Flying Officer Robert Carl Dalgleish, (Ontario) Age 23 RCAF Flying Officer Gordon Wallace Hirtle, (Liverpool, Nova Scotia) Age 23, and RCAF Pilot Officer Arthur Harold Peters. (Ontario) Age 22 The five crew members are buried in the St. Augustine Churchyard, Heanton Punchardon, North Devon District, Devon, England. On August 27, 1943, Wing Commander D.G. Pickard of 407 Squadron wrote to Gordon’s wife: … Pilot Officer Hurtle had been with our Squadron only a short time, but in that time had become very popular with the officers and men. I became particularly interested in him because he was a Maritimer and I am one too -- and I can tell you that he was a credit to the Maritimes and to his country. He was willing and industrious and his captain, Pilot Officer Dalgliesh, who was lost with him, always spoke very highly of his ability. Your husband was a member of one of our best crews and every one of us feels their loss keenly. Your husband and the lads with whom he flew on his last flight are buried in a little churchyard on a hill overlooking our aerodrome. It is a beautiful spot and although I realized that it is not as satisfactory to you as having him in your own churchyard, I can assure you that his grave will be well looked after by us. Their efforts have been and will be an inspiration to all of us, and when, through victory, we achieve lasting peace, they shall not be forgotten. Gordon Wallace Hirtle and Roy Arnold Clark were both born in Liverpool, Queens Co., Nova Scotia. Both would be assigned to 407 RCAF Squadron and were part of the crew Vickers Wellington (#MP652). They are buried beside each other in graves 6 and 7.

Source: Canadian Virtual War Memorial findagrave