Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Photo of PAUL MARTIN ROCHE – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Photo of PAUL MARTIN ROCHE – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Photo of PAUL MARTIN ROCHE – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Service Book – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Correspondence – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Correspondence – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Photo of Paul Martin Roche – My much loved Great Uncle, Paul M Roche, Lancaster Bomber Pilot, RCAF. He "never flew in any other state but the state of grace."

Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star May 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Newman Centre Memorial – This framed scroll hangs in the St. John Henry Newman Catholic Church (formerly St. Thomas Aquinas Church) located on the University of Toronto campus. The pre-printed template was designed by A.J. Casson. “For King and Country Members of Newman Club of the University of Toronto Who Have Volunteered for Active Service with Canada’s Fighting Forces”. The roll of service shows a total of 289 names written in calligraphy. The document is not dated and contains no key, but it is known after the fact that at least nine of the individuals listed therein lost their lives in the Second World War (at least 6 in the Canadian and 3 in the American forces).

Photo of Paul Martin Roche – Paul's graduation photo from Optometry School at Saint Michael's College in Toronto.

Newspaper Clipping – The Peterborough Examiner reporting on Paul's safe arrival in England.

Letter Page 1 – This letter was from the Mayor of Blamont, France where Paul's plane crashed on July 29th, 1944. He and his crew are buried there in the communal cemetery. The letter was sent to the airman's mother, Cecile Roche, and explains how the plane leveled out at the last moment and crashed into a field saving the town.

Letter (Page 2)

Letter (Page 3)

Letter (Page 4)

Letter (Page 1) – Paul's last letter to his family.

Letter (Page 2)

Letter (Page 3)

Envelope

Paul's service medals and RCAF flight log

Honour Roll – Paul's name on page 430 from "The Book of Remembrance"

Memorial – Flying Officer Paul Martin Roche is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Memorial – Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Memorial – Flying Officer Paul Martin Roche is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Photo of PAUL MARTIN ROCHE – Paul's portrait was one of twenty chosen for an exhibit at Vimy Ridge entitled "Faces of Freedom" running May-November, 2019.

Ceremony – Ceremony in Blâmont for the 75th anniversary of the plane crash and saving of the town on May 10th, 2019.

Ceremony – Paul’s medals placed on his tombstone during a VE ceremony in Blâmont on May 10th, 2019, united 75 years later. Lest we forget