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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Bert Strachan

In memory of:

Flight Sergeant Bert Strachan

June 4, 1942

Military Service


Service Number:

R/85734

Age:

28

Force:

Air Force

Unit:

Royal Canadian Air Force

Division:

501 Sqdn.

Additional Information


Son of John Cox Strachan and Margaret M. Strachan, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Commemorated on Page 117 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL
Surrey, United Kingdom

Grave Reference:

Panel 106.

Location:

During the Second World War more than 116,000 men and women of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth gave their lives in service. More than 17,000 of these were members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, or Canadians serving with the Royal Air Force. Approximately one-third of all who died have no known grave. Of these, 20,450 are commemorated by name on the Runnymede Memorial, which is situated at Englefield Green, near Egham, 32 kilometers by road west of London.

The design of the Runnymede Memorial is original and striking. On the crest of Cooper's Hill, overlooking the Thames, a square tower dominates a cloister, in the centre of which rests the Stone of Remembrance. The cloistered walks terminate in two lookouts, one facing towards Windsor, and the other towards London Airport at Heathrow. The names of the dead are inscribed on the stone reveals of the narrow windows in the cloisters and the lookouts. They include those of 3,050 Canadian airmen. Above the three-arched entrance to the cloister is a great stone eagle with the Royal Air Force motto, Per Ardua ad Astra". On each side is the inscription:

IN THIS CLOISTER ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF TWENTY THOUSAND AIRMEN WHO HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE. THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM IN RAID AND SORTIE OVER THE BRITISH ISLES AND THE LANDS AND SEAS OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE

In the tower a vaulted shrine, which provides a quiet place for contemplation, contains illuminated verses by Paul H. Scott."

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Photo of BERT STRACHAN– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of BERT STRACHAN– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Medal– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Medals– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of BERT STRACHAN– Jack and Bert Strachan. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of BERT STRACHAN– John and Marg and Jack and Bert. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Other– Bert and Robert. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of BERT STRACHAN– Jack and Bert. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Attestation paper (1)– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Attestation paper (2)– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Birth Certificate– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Letter of recommendation– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Evaluation– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Letter of recommendation– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Letter– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Document– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Letter– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star October 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star June 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Soldiers' Tower Memorial– The Soldiers’ Tower was built by the University of Toronto Alumni Association in 1924 as a memorial to the Great War of 1914-1918. The names of those who died in that conflict are carved on the Memorial Screen at photo left. After the Second World War, more names were carved in the Memorial Arch at the Tower’s base. In total, almost 1200 names are inscribed.  A Memorial Room inside the Tower contains mementoes and artifacts, and a 51-bell carillon serves as the audio element of the living memorial to the alumni, students, faculty and staff who died in the World Wars. The Soldiers’ Tower is the site of an annual Service of Remembrance. Photo: Kathy Parks, Alumni Relations.
  • Memorial Room– Soldiers’ Tower, University of Toronto. Photo: David Pike, courtesy of Alumni Relations.
  • Memorial Arch– The names of those who died in the Second World War were added to the archway beneath the Soldiers’ Tower in 1949. The name of “FS B. STRACHAN R.C.A.F.” is among the names inscribed. Photo: Cody Gagnon, courtesy of Alumni Relations.
  • Memorial Book– University of Toronto Memorial Book, Second World War 1939-1945. Published by the Soldiers’ Tower Committee, 1993. Entry on page 68 reads: “Sgt/ Pilot Bert STRACHAN RCAF, 501 Sqn RAF. Former student in Trinity College, 1939-40; Teachers’ Course, 1940.  Missing, presumed dead, after air operation over the English Channel, 4 June 1942.  Name inscribed on the Runnymede Memorial, Cooper’s Hill, Egham, Surrey, England.”
  • Memorial– Inscription - Runnymede Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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