October 16, 1919 - January 31, 2005
William 'Bill' Bert Whitmore, born in Watrous, Saskatchewan, was a pilot with 438 Squadron for a short time. He trained with 438 between December 1943 and February 1944 but then went to 257. He was only administratively attached to 438 during the initial phases of Hurricane/Typhoon OTU. He only appears on squadron strength in November and December 1943 and January 1944, and only as a NCO pilot, not even by name. He doesn’t appear anywhere on any of the flight rosters for those 3 months confirming has wasn’t 438 operationally. He never flew a single mission with 438, he went straight to 257 Sqn (RAF). Whitmore stood out as the only NCO pilot with 438 in those days.
Additional information, courtesy of Frank Dutil, 438 Historian.
Enlisted as an aircraft mechanic in 1940. Remustered to pilot in 1942. Posted to 118 Sqn in August 1943 at Sea Island, British Columbia. Flew Kittyhawks. Crossed to the UK with 438 Sqn. For some reason, was posted to 50 OTU in January 1944, then 83 GSU in March and then to 257 Burma Squadron of the RAF arriving on 18 May 1944. He flew operationally until 20 January 1945 when his aircraft iced up in cloud, the engine quit and caught fire and he had to perform an emergency landing, unfortunately behind enemy lines. Interned at Stalag Luft III - Sagan, Germany
He passed away in Victoria, British Columbia.
Photos courtesy of Bill Whitmore's daughter, Gail.
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