Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Military Service

Additional Information

The following information had been shared with us by Pilot Officer Holden' nephew, Keith Barton. My uncle was the pilot and crew captain. His aircraft was shot down while he and his crew were on their return to base in England from a bombing raid on Dortmund. My uncle's aircraft went down in the North Sea just off the coast of Holland. His body was washed ashore and found and he is buried in the section for British airmen in the Bergen General Cemetery, Bergen, Netherlands. My uncle was a farm boy from the rural Saskatchewan farming community of Senlac, part way between Unity and Macklin. According to all remembrances my uncle was a top student at school,a star athlete, and generally highly thought of by his family and community. The highest praise of my uncle's talents came from my grandfather, a very dour man who immigrated with his wife and baby daughter, my mother, from their home near Manchester, England to the Senlac area to take up a homestead and become a farmer. My grandfather is alleged to have said that "there was not a piece of equipment that Bill couldn' fix or even improve upon and there was not a horse Bill couldn't break to ride or drive ". As you might imagine these were very important skills in that remote community in the late 30's, early 40's and his talents were constantly being called upon by others. As a very young boy I had much contact with my 'Uncle Bill' as mother took us often from our home in Saskatoon back to the farm to visit. When Uncle Bill enlisted in the RCAF he did part of his training in Saskatoon and was a constant visitor at our home. He was my hero, larger than life, a magic person! At the time his aircraft was lost my uncle was the captain of a crew of 7. He was RCAF and the other 6 were from the RAF. The province of Saskatchewan has commemorated Pilot Officer Holden by naming Holden Lake in his honour.

Commemorated on Page 171 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.