Svatopluk Bachurek was born on 7 March 1915 in Czechoslovakia. He joined the Royal Air Force in England after the German occupation of his country and was a Spitfire pilot. In October 1941 he was with 32 Squadron, but was later transferred to 124 (Baroda) Squadron, operating from Biggin Hill.

25 April 1942 saw a short but fierce air battle over the English Channel and and French coast. Spitfires from six squadrons operated in two so called Ramrod (bomber escort) and a Circus mission, which were aimed to get the Luftwaffe airborne and try and destroy them in air to air combat.

124 Squadron

Flight Lieutenant Bachurek's 124 squadron was one of the Spitfire squadrons participating in this operation, which was codenamed 'Circus 137'.

JagdGeschwaders 26 and 2 scrambled from their bases in Northern France and engaged the British around 16.00 over the French coast near Pas de Calais. Within fourteen minutes the German fighters shot down ten Spitfires. Most of them crashed into the English Channel. Flight Lieutenant Bachurek was one of them. His body later washed ashore the Texel coast and was buried here.

Other accounts state that FL Bachurek was shot down on an escort misison to Vlissingen, the Netherlands, but this seems to stem from an error regarding the plane he was flying (Spitfire BL620, instead of W3332, which crashed a few days later on mission Rodeo 51[1]).

Flight Lieutenant Bachurek is buried in Den Burg Cemetery, Plot K. Row 6. Grave 122.

Texel, The Netherlands

 

See also;
Sgt Zdenek Kothera

all casualties of 124 squadron

Sources:
Gerrit Zwanenberg, En Toen Was Het Stil, Part I
Donald Caldwell, The JG26 War Diary, London, Grub Street 1998
[1] Discussion at Rafcommands forum

Directions to Den Burg (Texel) Cemetery

Posted 2006
Updated 4 January 2009

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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