Flight Sergeant Edwin Archibald Toole (R/53246) served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Born on 27th June 1919, he was the son of Frederick Toole and Rachel May Toole (née Cameron) of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He was the husband of Anna Toole of Belfast.
Edwin died on 4th November 1943 aged 24 years old. He was a Flight Engineer on Consolidated Liberator AL509 with R.A.F. 148 Squadron. The plane took off from an airfield in Libya on 3rd November 1943. The mission was a special operation codenamed Fungus 33 aiming to drop supplies for Yugoslav Partisans. The plane struck a hilltop around 4 miles north of Kosinjski Zamost on Croatia’s Adriatic Coast. All 7 crew members died as a result of the crash.
Remembering the crew of Liberator AL509
| Last Name | First Name(s) | Rank | Role | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarke | James Herbert Stevenson | Warrant Officer Class I | Bomb Aimer | R/79118 |
| Crawford | Hugh Irvine | Flight Lieutenant | Wireless Operator / Air Gunner | 411065 |
| Dowle | William Joseph | Flight Sergeant | Air Gunner | 1066563 |
| Elliott | Eldon Burke | Flight Lieutenant | Navigator | J/4524 |
| Hawken | Ralph Edward | Warrant Officer Class I | Air Gunner | R/81068 |
| Passmore | Maurice | Flight Lieutenant | Pilot | 116910 |
| Toole | Edwin Archibald | Flight Sergeant | Flight Engineer | R/53246 |
Edwin Archibald Toole’s grave is in Section 3, Row D, Collective Grave 1-7 of Belgrade War Cemetery, Serbia. His headstone bears the inscription:
Love’s last gift, remembrance. Everloving wife Anna.