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A poppy engraved street sign of Olafsen Avenue.
Screen grab from Google Maps
In honour of our soldiers: Gordon William Olafsen
Published 12:27 PST, Thu December 19, 2024
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In a series about Richmond’s poppy street signs, in memory of our fallen soldiers, we share the story of Olafsen Avenue.
Gordon William Olafsen was born on Aug. 14, 1922, his father, Guttorm Olafsen was from Norway and his mother, Barbara Henrietta Witzgier, was born in Germany. Their family lived at Second Avenue and Broadway and Gordon studied at Richmond High School from 1938 to 1941.
Gordon would leave school and begin working at the Canadian Fishing Company as an assistant lineman, after about a year he would enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force on Sept. 16, 1942.
After enlisting, Gordon would train in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Completing his training a year later, he would find himself in New York, prior to embarking on their journey to England on Oct. 8, 1943 and arriving eight days later.
His arrival to England, would see him posted at the Royal Air Force base in Bournemouth, before he joined the #434 Bluenose Squadron.
Unfortunately, on Dec. 18, 1944, the Halifax aircraft #NR118, one of the #434 Bluenose Squadron’s planes crashed near the village of Pesche, Belgium during a raid against Duisburg, Germany. Tragically, Gordon Olafsen and four other crew members were killed in the crash, one crew member was saved. Gordon would be buried in the American Cemetery in Fosses, Belgium, before being exhumed and reburied in the War Cemetery in Leopoldsburg, Limburg, Germany.
He was survived by his parents and four brothers; Robert, Ernest, and John who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and Norman, who was too young to join.
On Feb. 4, 1946, the City of Richmond made the decision to honour Gordon William Olafsen by naming a road after him. Olafsen Avenue can now be found west of the No. 5 Road and Bridgeport Road intersection.
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