Donald "Fred" Burchell

On your right is another veterans' grave marking the passing of a person who never returned. Fred served in the Huron Militia, Seaforth, Ontario and upon moving to Perth with his family, served in the Lanark Renfrew Scottish Regiment. He joined the RCAF in Ottawa, March 15, 1941, service #R95743. He received his training at Manning Pool, Toronto, Trenton, Winnipeg and received his wings at Mountain View on December 6, 1941. On January 21, 1942 he was promoted to Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner), assigned to the Alouette Squadron 425, Victoriaville, Quebec and was shipped overseas the same month.

Fred and his crew left Dishforth Airfield, North Yorkshire England on a mission to bomb the Port of Hamburg, Germany in a Wellington bomber on November 9, 1942, and were shot down over Germany. The flight crew that night included Sergeant Pilot Norman Davis of Perth, who also perished. Of the six crew members, only one survived the crash and eventually made it home to Canada.

The Perth Courier reported him missing in action just before the end of 1942.

Fred is buried in the Sage War Cemetery, Sage Germany, alongside Norman Davis and three other crew members.

His memorial is just one of many veterans, even from the battles of 1812, memorialized in Elmwood.