Henry John Burden

Who was Henry John Burden?

Henry John Burden DSO, DFC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 16 victories.

The son of Charles Eldridge and Maggie Burden, and grandson of department store founder Timothy Eaton, Henry Burden first saw action with the Canadian Forestry Company in France in mid 1916.

He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in April 1917 for flight training. Qualifying as a pilot, he flew the S.E.5a with No. 56 Squadron in France from February 1918 onwards. He claimed five Fokker D.VIIs shot down on 10 August 1918, and two days later he claimed three more. He was awarded the DSO and DFC in November 1918.

His final wartime tally consisted of 13 destroyed, and 2 'out of control'.

Burden became an architect after the war and died in March 1960 aged 64. His sister Margaret married fellow Canadian ace Billy Bishop.