It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of RCAF Wing Commander Gordon William Webb (Feb 27, 1923 - Feb 11, 2025) at 101 years of age. Gordon served his country with honour as a distinguished WW2 Air Combat Veteran and was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar, and DC and Bar. In WW2 he flew RCAF Halifax Bombers on 25 sorties with Bomber Command and another 47 sorties in RAF Lancaster Bombers in the hallowed 405 Squadron Pathfinders. Gordon served in the Korean War with the RCAF and as an exchange pilot with USAF MATS in the Korean War Airlift (1950-53). He also served with USAF MATS in the Vietnam War (1965-68) and is one of the few - and only foreigner - to wear the USAF Diamond Award for Exemplary Flying. Gordon holds the Trans Canada speed record for the shortest flying time from Vancouver to Halifax, achieved in RCAF North Star 17512 on January 15th, 1950.
Gordon was the beloved husband of Audrey Marjorie Webb nee Bassett (July 27, 1926 - Aug 5, 1989). His legacy and exemplary service continues to be honored by his sons, Gordon Edward Webb and David John Webb. He will be missed by his daughter-in-law Beth and his dear grandson Trace.
Gordon was the son of Thomas and Delores Webb of Hamilton and the son-in law of Edward and Marjorie Bassett of Ottawa. His three brothers, Norman, John and Morris all served with distinction as combatants in WW2.
Gordon will be missed by his brothers’ families, and honored in perpetuity by RCAF, RAF and USAF veterans from both his peacetime and wartime postings around the world. Gordon will also be remembered by the many lives he touched as a volunteer at Canadian National Institute of the Blind where he coached curling and golf in the Ottawa/Nepean region. RCAF Wing Commander Gordon William Webb lived an honorable life in service to his country and his community.
He will be interred at The National Military Cemetery at Beechwood National Memorial Centre located at 280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Digital Guestbook
Chris Spraakman
Robert J Garsnell
Rest in Peace Wing Commander Gordon William Webb
High Flight
By John Gillespie Magee Jr.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds,—and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air ....
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Catherine Jones
Dear Dave and Gord,
It was with great sadness that I read that your dad, Gord, had died.
We met in 2004, in order to paint his portrait, and may I thank you now, it was kind of you to include the image here. Bittersweet.
Your dad was a wonderful man, a man of honour, and he possessed a great sense of humour; we had some fabulous chinwags. Thinking, now, about those stories he told about the "Pistol Packin’ Mama", Marin Drewes, and the dreaded gremlins [don’t mention the gremlins!], brings a smile. Gord also spoke of you often, and how proud he was of you both--down there in Hollywood--and of his grandson, Trace. Gord was so proud of his family.
Please accept my profound condolences for your loss, and know how grateful I am to have been able to call Gord, friend. He was a great man, a true hero, and they sure don’t make them like that anymore.
I will miss him.
Yours sincerely,
Catherine Jones
Thank you for your service Sir.