The Death of P/O Douglas Burnell
RCAF Flying Goose Squadron #408

Introduction

On 14 Sept. 1944, the Niagara Falls Evening Review printed a short death notice on page 1 about a local airman who was killed during WWII. The notice was apparently all that “remained” of Pilot Offficer Douglas Burnell (photo) here in Canada. Where was Burnell based? What aircraft did he fly? How many missions had he flown? What was the human story behind this short report?

This article describes the uncovering of the story of the death of Douglas Burnell more than 60 years after it happened.

The Search

Archives Canada holds Canadian military personnel files. Its website states that it takes six months to locate, copy, and send it, but within a few days of sending in a request for Doug Burnell’s file they replied to say that it would take three months to arrive. Meanwhile other research into Burnell’s death could proceed.

A quick background check indicated that Burnell was born in Hamilton, Ont. on 27 Sept. 1918. When Burnell was 9 years old, his father died. His mother died 18 months later. Orphaned, he came to Niagara Falls to live with his aunt and uncle, Dr. and Mrs. Mylks, and their 3 daughters at the end of May, 1929.

An internet search into his death was carried out. In this case it seemed logical to search for web pages containing terms such as “Burnell”, “downed aircraft”, “R.C.A.F. deaths”, etc., then sorting through the responses using the date of Burnell’s death contained in the news item. One of the first “hits” was a Veterans Affairs Canada web page dedicated to Burnell. It featured a photograph of Burnell’s gravestone in Harrogate Cemetery, Yorkshire, England begging the question: How could a flier lost in France during WWII have a grave in England?

The Veterans AffairsCanada webpage states that Douglas Burnell was a pilot with the famous 408 Goose Squadron flying Lancaster bombers. A bit of checking showed that the 408 was based at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire just a few miles from the Harrogate Cemetery. Could his body had somehow been recovered and brought back to his base for burial?

An internet search for a web page describing activities at the Linton airbase on Sept 11, 1944, turned up a report of a plane crash at 6:00pm. D.A. Burnell was listed as “KIA” (killed in action) along with seven other dead airmen and one dead ground crew serviceman. Several of the dead were reported buried at the Harrogate Cemetery.

Apparently, the Niagara Falls Review was given false information about the circumstances of Burnell’s death. It appears that Burnell died in a plane crash at his airbase in Yorkshire. That would explain his being buried in England. But answering the question about his burial just raises another problem: Why would the RCAF Director of Records have told Dr. Mylks that Burnell had died in France?