Burcher, Anthony Fisher

Operation Chastise (Dambusters Raid)

Date of birth:: March 15th, 1922 (Vaucluse/Sydney, Australia)
Date of death:: August 9th, 1995 (Hobart/Tasmania, Australia)
Service number:: 403182
Nationality:: Australian

Biography

Anthony Fisher Burcher, born in Vaucluse, Sydney, on March 15, 1922, was the fifth of twelve children.

A wool sorter before joining the RAAF, he arrived in England in September 1941 and trained before posting to 106 Squadron. His first mission was the Thousand Bomber raid on June 1, 1942, attacking Essen. He completed a full tour by November.

Awarded the DFM, Burcher was noted for repelling enemy fighters over Saarbrücken. Though occasionally reprimanded for rowdy behavior, his gunnery skills earned him a commission and a spot in the Gunnery Leaders Course. He later became an instructor at 1654 Conversion Unit before joining 617 Squadron.

On the Dams Raid, Burcher was lightly wounded when AJ-M was hit by flak. After the final attack, he helped the severely injured John Minchin bail out before jumping himself. Captured separately from John Fraser, he suffered a broken back and was beaten by German interrogators.

Freed in 1945, Burcher married Joan Barnes, continued in the RAAF, and had two daughters. In the late 1940s, his declining health and behavior troubled his superiors. Transferred to London in 1950, he was discharged in 1952 and returned to Australia.

Later, he worked in the UK but fell into criminal activity, prosecuted for fraud in 1961 before returning to Australia. In his later years, he gave interviews on the Dams Raid, earning commendation. He died in Hobart, Tasmania, on August 9, 1995.

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