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F/O JJR Bédard
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F/O JJR Bédard Grave Marker
Details:
3 Jun 1953 - F/O JJR Bédard
F/O Joseph Jean Raymond Bédard age 25 and a native of (Malton) Ottawa, Ontario was killed when his Canadian F-86 Mark II Sabre Serial Number 19193 crashed during a training exercise on the 3 June, 1953 near Boston, in the county of Lincolnshire, England. He was assigned with 439 Squadron at North Luffenham at the time of his death.
Extracts from North Luffenham Daily Dairy
23 Jun 53
F/O Ray Bédard was on an exercise with F/O's Fowler and Wilkinson when he became separated from them. Later a call was received that a Sabre had crashed near Boston, investigation proved it to belong to 439. There had been some hope that F/O Bédard had ejected himself but investigation of the wreckage proved that he had crashed with the aircraft.
26 Jun 53
The funeral service of F/O Bédard was held this morning in the RC Chapel with interment in Exton Cemetary.
Additional detail from Michael Melnick
Flying Officer JJR (Ray) Bédard - The son of Paul Emile Bédard and Marguerite Moore, and the husband of the former Mizpah Jane Wood, F/O Joseph Jean Raymond Bédard (age 25) was a native of (Malton) Ottawa, Ontario.
While stationed at North Luffenham, England, 32496 Flying Officer Ray Bédard was killed when his Canadian F-86 Mark II Sabre Serial Number 19193 crashed during a training exercise on the 23 June, 1953.
The following entry is from 439's Operations Record Book:
Flying Officer Ray Bédard was on an exercise with Flying Officer Fowler and Wilkonson when he became separated from them and no R/T (radio) contact could be made. Later in the day a call was received that a Sabre had crashed near Boston, in the county of Lincolnshire. Witnesses said that they had seen the jet emerge from a cloud layer with the engine sputtering and the fuselage ablaze. After turning in a semi-circle, the Sabre nose-dived and crashed into the earth creating a 30 foot crater and missing several cottages only a few feet away. It was hoped that F/O Bedard had ejected from the aircraft, but further investigation proved that he had stayed with his Sabre.
The second of five children, Flying Officer Ray Bédard also left behind two sisters and two brothers, as well as a son, born 3 months almost to the day following this tragic accident. 32496 Flying Officer Ray Bédard is buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England Grave Reference: Canadian Annexe, Row C, Grave 9.
F/O JJR Bédard
F/O JJR Bédard Grave Marker