Ian Willoughby Bazalgette Ian Willoughby Bazalgette , VC , DFC ( 19 October 1918 – 4 August 1944 ) was born in Calgary , Alberta and while serving in the Royal Air Force was awarded the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Early years . Ian Willoughby Bazalgette was born of English / Irish parents in Calgary , Alberta on 19 October 1918 . His father was Charles Ian Bazalgette ( 1888 – 1956 ) and his mother was Marion Edith , née Bunn ( 1891 – 1977 ) . The great - grandfather of Ian Willoughby ( who always known as ' Will ' in the family , to distinguish him from his father , who was known as " Ian " ) was the civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette . Will entered primary school at the Toronto Balmy Beach School , but his family returned to England in 1927 . He grew up in New Malden , England and attended Rokeby Preparatory School in Wimbledon ( 1927 – 1932 ) and then Beverley Boys Secondary School as well as receiving private tutelage . In his childhood he suffered from poor health , and at 13 was diagnosed with clinical tuberculosis , which required four months of treatment at the Royal Sea - Bathing Hospital , Margate ( Aug - Dec 1931 ) . That he was able to rise above these afflictions is an indication of a strength of character which was to show itself amply later . Second World War . When World War II was declared , Bazalgette enlisted in the Royal Artillery , being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1940 . After serving in the Searchlight Section as an instructor , he transferred to the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve . He soloed within a week of beginning his flight training at RAF Cranwell and swiftly completed his " ab initio " flying by 24 January 1942 , given the rank of Pilot Officer . His first posting was to 25 OTU ( Operational Training Unit ) but by September 1942 , he had joined an operational bomber squadron , No . 115 Squadron RAF at RAF Mildenhall , Suffolk . Flying the venerable Vickers Wellington bomber , " Baz " was sent out initially on " gardening " sorties , laying mines in the North Sea . After 13 operations , P / O Bazalgette and his squadron transitioned to the Avro Lancaster , completing their training in March 1943 . After completing 10 more operations successfully on raids against heavily defended targets , Berlin , Essen , Kiel and St . Nazaire and surviving some harrowing escapes including a crash landing , Bazalgette was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross ( DFC ) on 29 May 1943 . The award noted his " great courage and determination in the face of the enemy " . With the end of his tour of 28 operations , Bazalgette was posted as an instructor and Flight Commander to 20 OTU in Lossiemouth , Scotland , before he was " recruited " for the Pathfinders . He transferred in April 1944 to No . 635 Squadron RAF No . 8 ( Pathfinder Force ) Group , based at RAF Downham Market in Norfolk . When his conversion training was completed , 25 year - old " Baz " flew as an Acting Squadron Leader , taking part in a number of operations during and after the D - Day campaign . As the assigned Master Bomber , Bazalgette ’ s 58th and final mission was the bombing of V - 1 rocket storage caves at Trossy St . Maximin . Last Mission . On 4 August 1944 at Trossy St . Maximin , France , Squadron Leader Bazalgette ' s Lancaster III ND811 was amongst a formation spearhead on a daylight raid on German positions . When near his target , his bomber came under severe anti - aircraft fire from the ground , putting both starboard engines out of action and causing a serious fire . As the deputy ‘ master bomber ’ had already been shot down , the success of the attack depended on Squadron Leader Bazalgette , and despite the damage to his aircraft he pressed on to the target , marking and bombing it accurately . After the bombs had been dropped the Lancaster dived , practically out of control . Bazalgette regained control , but the port inner engine failed and the starboard mainplane became a mass of flames . He then attempted to bring the burning aircraft to safety , having ordered those members of his crew ( F / L Charles Godfrey DFC , Sgt George Turner , F / O Douglas Cameron DFM , and F / L Geoffrey Goddard ) who were able to do so to bail out . Although he managed to land the plane near Senantes ( Eure - et - Loir ) , 2 km ENE of Nogent - le Roi , it immediately exploded , killing him and his remaining two wounded crew members , F / L Ivan Hibbert DFC and F / S Vernon Leeder . Coincidentally , F / O Cameron had been a member of F / S Rawdon Hume Middleton ' s crew when the Australian was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross . His grave is at Senantes Churchyard , 13 miles north - west of Beauvais , France . His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon , England . Bazalgette Gardens in New Malden , Surrey , where he had attended Beverley Boys School , was named in his honour during the early 1950s . A school in Calgary , Ian Bazalgette Junior High School , is also named after him . Bazalgette Lancaster . At the Nanton Lancaster Society Air Museum , now the Bomber Command Museum of Canada ( located in Nanton , Alberta , south of his hometown Calgary ) , an Avro Lancaster , FM159 , after a lengthy period of reconstruction and repair , was painted in the colours and markings of S / L Bazalgette ' s aircraft . A dedication ceremony was held in 1990 . Mrs . Ethel Broderick , Ian Bazalgette ' s sister , unveiled a plaque and the markings of the Bazalgette aircraft ( F2 - T ) were unveiled by two of Baz ’ s crewmembers , Chuck Godfrey and George Turner . 1 - 84342 - 356 - 1 .