Hugh Munro Hope was the son of Dr. Gustavus John Hope and Grace Janet Munro Hope, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He went by Munro or Mo. He was married to Mary Violet Hope. In 1943 they had a son, John Munro.  He had an older sister Grace, and a younger brother, John Macintosh (Mac). Both of them were lawyers. Mac became a Court of Queen's Bench judge.

Munro obtained a BA at the University of Alberta and had just started his first year of law school at the University of Alberta when he enlisted.

Prior to going overseas, Munro was stationed in Arnprior, Ontario which was a flight training school. He was a flight instructor.

418 'City of Edmonton'
Squadron

Later he became a pilot on a Mosquito with 418 Squadron RCAF. His navigator was F/O Leslie Thorpe.

On 22 February 1945 the Allied Air Forces launched Operation Clarion, a concerted effort to wipe out all forms of transport available to the Germans in 24 hours. Nearly 9,000 aircraft, operating from bases in England, France, Holland, Belgium and Italy attacked railways, bridges, ports and roads.

418 Squadron also participated in these attacks. In the morning of the 22nd, several Mosquitoes take off  from their base Hartford Bridge. F/L Hope and F/O Thorpe were tasked to attack any transportation target in North West Germany. The missions were successful, but costly. Dozens of Allies planes were shot down. 418 Squadron lost two planes. One, flown by the commander Wing Commander Wickett, is also shot down.

F/L Hope and F/O Thorpe are shot down over the Dutch-German border and crashed near the town of Beerta at 13.15.

F/L Hope was 26.

F/L Hugh Munro Hope is buried in Nieuweschans General Cemetery, Plot IJ. Sec. B. Grave 14.

There is a stained glass window in Robertson United church in Edmonton commemorating him.

(picture courtesy of Marty Hope)

(Picture by Wim Bastiaanse)

Nieuweschans, The Netherlands

See Also:
F/O Leslie Thorpe

Sources:
Mr. Marty Hope
Gerrit Zwanenburg, En Toen Was Het Stil, Royal Dutch Air Force, ny

Acknowledgements:
Squadron crest (c) 418 Sqn RCAF Association

Directions to Nieuweschans General Cemetery

Posted 21 January 2005
Updated 12 November 2011

If you have any suggestions, comments or additional information, please contact me.

This website is dedicated to the men and women who died and/or are buried in The Netherlands during World War II.

 

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