ZURBRIGG, Franklin Charles

NAME                    ZURBRIGG          Franklin Charles
RANK                    Flight Sergeant / Navigator     116656                                                                                                                        RAF 17 Group - RAF Coastal Command                                                                            SQUADRON         RAF No. 1 Operational Training Unit
                              RAF Silloth Airfield in Cumberland                                                                                          Born                      June 1, 1917 - Lucan - Township of Biddulph - County of Middlesex                              Residence             Lucan - Ontario                                                                                                                      Died                      January 13, 1943          25 years   7 months
Cemetery              Causewayhead Cemetery - Silloth - Holme Low - Cumberland - England
                              R 15
Parents                 Mr. Charles and Selma Marie Zurbrigg - Exeter

Franklin was born on June 1, 1917 and attended Lucan’s Public School 1934-29 - Lucan High Schools 1929-38 and the London Normal School 1938-39. Following this he took a teaching position at SS No. 1 in Denfield  - Ontario 1939-41. In the summer of 1939-40 he attended McMaster University 1939-40 and then in 1941 he attended the University of Western Ontario. Very early on he became a conscientious student and a resourceful athlete. He very much enjoyed track & field, hockey, swimming, tennis and handball in 1936 was the senior track champion at Lucan High School in 1936. His hobbies were music and singing. The family would have attended Lucan United Church. While living in Hamilton, he joined the Fiat Club at the First United Church as he had always been an active member of his church. He joined the Boy Scout movement and enthusiastically introduced it to Lucan. Eventually he achieved King’s Scout and then became a Scoutmaster. In early July of 1941 after completing his second year of teaching at Denfield, Frank worked for a short period as a manual training instructor and director of recreation at a vacation school operated by the United Church. This proved to be his last peacetime employment.

Canada

On July 17, 1941 at London Franklin enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force with the rank of Aircraftsman 2. At the time he stood 6' 1" tall and weighed 160 pounds. He had a fair complexion with brown eyes and brown hair. He was then assigned to the London Recruitment Centre until August 3 and then was posted to No. 1 Manning Depot in Toronto - Ontario. On August 21 he was posted to St. Thomas to the Technical Training School. He was there until October 11 when he was posted to No. 5 Initial Training School in Belleville - Ontario. He earned the rank of Leading Aircraftsman while posted here. On December 21 he was posted to No. 9 Air Observer School at Saint Jean sur Richelieu - Quebec.                                                                                        From here his next posting took him to No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School at Final - Ontario on March 29, 1942.  While here he received the rank of Sergeant and earned his Air Observer Badge. The aptitudes and skills he displayed earmarked him for navigation/bomb aiming training. He had to master the art of chart reading and dead reckoning, deal with velocity and other weather phenomena. His next posting took him to the prairies of Manitoba on May 9 to No. 1 Air Navigation School in Rivers. Then it was to Halifax to prepare for going overseas at No. 1 "Y" Depot.

Overseas

On August 20 he volunteered for the RAF Training Pool. The following day Sergeant Zurbrigg embarked from Canada and disembarked in the United Kingdom on September 1. The next day he reported to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre in Bournemouth. On September 12 he was assigned to the RAF School of General Reconnaissance of Group 17 - Coastal Command based at RAF Thorney Island - Sussex.

In the Field

On November 7 he was posted to RAF No. 1 Operational Training Unit based at RAF Silloth - Cumbria and just after arriving here received the rank of Flight Sergeant. Originally #1 OTU was formed to train crews on all types of land aircraft, but as the war progressed, more OTUs were established and #1 came to train the crews that would only fly the Hudson.
Flight Sergeant Zurbrigg lost his life when Hudson T 9322 stalled and crashed then burst into flames while taking off on a local night flight. All crewmembers suffered multiple injuries and all died before they reached
the local hospital.
Sergeant Zurbrigg’s long passage to war – by way of the embattled North Atlantic and the equally embattled “Mother Country” - had reached its final destination.

The Zurbrigg's received the Memorial Cross in March 1946 and at a later date received the medals awarded to Franklin which included the 1939-45 Star, the Aircrew Europe Star, the Defence and War Medals along with the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with clasp.

Franklin is honoured and remembered on the Roll of Honours at McMaster University and the University of Western Ontario. He would also be honoured and remembered on the Memorial Plaque of Lucan United Church. In addition he is honoured and remembered on the Exeter Cenotaph, in the Books of Remembrance in the Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament and on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. One can also read the article on alumnimcmaster.ca/s/1439/17/interior.aspx