It was "Gazetted" on 2 January 1945 with his score at 20—he had shot down another five German night fighters in the intervening period. Burbridge's and Skelton's 21st and final victim fell south-west of Ludwigshafen on 2/3 January 1945. The claim was filed as a Ju 88. This victory made them the highest scoring British and Commonwealth night fighter partnership of the war. For this action Burbridge received a bar to his DSO in February 1945 which was "Gazetted" on 13 March 1945. The citation erred as it mistakenly asserted the award was bestowed for achieving his 20th victory in January 1945. Burbridge left No. 85 Squadron in March 1945 to become commanding officer of the Night Fighter Leader’s School. He was later awarded the American Distinguished Flying Cross on 17 July 1945. Burbridge is quoted as saying "I always tried to aim for the wings of enemy aircraft and not the cockpit. I never wanted to kill anyone." Burbridge left the RAF in October 1946 and joined the University of Oxford. He read history at St Peter's College, Oxford and joined the evangelical Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union. Burbridge remained a lay preacher for the Scripture Union where he carried out work for the Children's Special Service Mission. While working as a secretary he met Barbara Cooper (b. 6 March 1917), a British national born in Kampala, Uganda. They married on 17 September 1949. In the 1970s he was a member of the pastoral team at St Aldate's Church, Oxford. In February 2013 Burbridge's family reported that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and they were considering selling his medals and wartime memorabilia to fund his private care home. On 25 March 2013, Burbridge's medals fetched £155,000 at auction. Burbridge died on 1 November 2016, aged 95.