Thanks for the link to the Wiki entry,
airborne artist.
Looks like the
Telegraph may have missed a bar on his DSO. **
Wiki contains a remarkable amount of detail of his 21 "airborne victories" with Skelton, although currently missing one or two anecdotes. The
Telegraph obituary states, for example, that just after the war Burbridge was able to invite one of his Luftwaffe victims, the ace Major Wilhelm Herget, to speak at the Night Fighter Leader's School. Afterwards, he gave Herget a ride in a Mosquito. He was able also to do the same for his brother, Jarvis, who had been a PoW.
Wiki mentions the death of Burbridge's father in 1940, following an accident the previous year. One wonders if this event might have influenced the son's decision to join up.
There are minor inconsistencies of Burbridge's life before and after the war. Pre-war, the family house that overlooked the Crystal Palace must have been at Penge, before the family moved to Knebworth in Hertfordshire.
Wiki does not mention that Bill Skelton also held strong Christian convictions, which must have been a factor in their long-standing partnership. Both accounts state that Burbridge, a Wesleyan, never intentionally fired at a cockpit. But the obituary confirms that Skelton had the same policy to attack the machine, not the crew. After the war, Skelton was ordained in the C of E., and Burbridge seems to have considered becoming a minister,
The obituary states that Burbridge's ministry took him abroad to many countries, often accompanied by his wife.
** [EDIT]
No, 'twas I that missed the bar on Burbridge's DSO, which I overlooked in the
Telegraph obituary.
Skelton and he were awarded the same decorations.
I may have to ask the Mods to amend this thread title accordingly...