• Operation Chastise (Dambusters Raid)

Date of birth:

April 16th, 1916 (Ponoka/Alberta, Canada)

Date of death:

May 17th, 1943 (Gilze-Rijen/Noord-Brabant, Nederland)

Buried on:

Commonwealth War Cemetery Bergen op Zoom
Plot: 23. Row: A. Grave: 1.

Service number:

R/93554

Nationality:

Canadian

Joseph Gordon Brady, known as Gordon, was born in Ponoka, Alberta, Canada, on 16 April 1916. His parents, originally from the USA, had settled in Canada. After school, he worked in a drugstore before joining the RCAF in March 1941, training as an air gunner and arriving in Britain a year later.

On 23 June 1942, he was posted to 16 OTU at Upper Heyford, quickly forming a crew. Brady was on board when Burpee had a forced landing in a Wellington on 27 August, avoiding obstacles but drawing criticism for his choice of emergency airfield. Later, he joined 106 Squadron, flying his first operation on 16 November 1942.

Brady earned promotions to Flight Sergeant in December 1942 and Warrant Officer in February 1943. Near the end of their tour, he transferred to 617 Squadron. Guy Gibson recommended Brady for a commission on 10 May 1943, calling him "smart and efficient," though Scampton station commander Charles Whitworth found him "nervous and agitated." Despite this, Whitworth approved the recommendation—but it was revoked after Brady’s death days later.

On 17 May 1943, Brady died when AJ-S crashed in flames at Gilze-Rijen airfield.

Witnesses noted his body had been thrown from the rear turret, showing no severe injuries. Burpee, Brady, and Weller were identified, while the others were buried in a communal grave. Initially interred by the Germans at Zuylen Cemetery, all seven were reburied after the war in Bergen-op-Zoom War Cemetery.

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• Photo 1: Findagrave
• - CWGC
  - Dambusters

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