Operation: Training

Date: 25th February 1942 (Wednesday)

Unit: No. 27 OTU (Operational Training Unit - see note)

Type: Wellington Ic

Serial: X9682

Code: Not known

Base: RAF Lichfield, Staffordshire

Location: Irish Sea

Pilot: Sgt. Dudley Harnett Dyson AUS/406351 RAAF Age 27. Missing believed killed

Pilot: Sgt. Colin Geoffrey Veal AUS/406335 RAAF Age 31. Missing believed killed

Obs: Sgt. Arthur Peter Roy Hargrave Aus/402302 RAAF Age 24. Missing believed killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Sidney John Rex Parsons AUS/404598 RAAFAge 21. Missing believed killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Roy Gordon Harkins NZ/403788 RNZAF Age 22. Missing believed killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Raymond Corlett Madge AUS/407946 RAAF Age 23. Missing believed killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off from RAF Lichfield in Staffordshire on a night cross country training flight which involved flying over the Irish Sea.

At 22:56 various monitoring stations picked up an SOS transmitted from the Wellington. Nothing further was heard and despite operations to search the area nothing was found and it is assumed they were lost over the Irish Sea.

Note: 27 OTU (Operational Training Unit) was formed on the 23rd April 1941 Its role was to form and train aircrew for front line bombing operations using Wellington bombers. The crews, largely from Australia and other Commonwealth countries, were then posted to their allocated squadrons, mostly in Lincolnshire.

Burial details:

Sgt. Dudley Harnett Dyson. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 112. Born on the 08th October 1914 at Fremantle, the son of Sydney and Vera Agnes Dyson and husband of Linda Margaret Dyson, of Fremantle, Western Australia.

Sgt. Colin Geoffrey Veal. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 113. Born on the 18th February 1911 at Leederville, the son of Pascoe Hocking Veal and Hermy Inez Veal and husband of Marie Rona Veal, of Northampton, Western Australia

Sgt. Arthur Peter Roy Hargrave. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 112. Born on the 19th October 1917 at North Adelaide, the son of Arthur Albert and Ruby Trix Hargrave, of Killara, New South Wales, Australia.

Sgt. Sidney John Rex Parsons. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 113. Born on the 01st November 1920 at Queensland, the son of William John James Parsons and Florence Muriel Parsons, of 13 Wattle Street, Hendra, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Sgt. Roy Gordon Harkins. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 117. Born on the 11th February 1920, the son of Robert Harkins and of Jessie Harkins (née Stancliffe), of Rehutai, Dargaville, Auckland, New Zealand. Also commemorated on the Roll of Honour, Northern Wairoa RSA, Dargaville, New Zealand.

Sgt. Raymond Corlett Madge. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 113. Born on the 13th July 1918 at Parkside, the son of Archibald Herbert Corlett Madge and Hilda Madge, of Adelaide, South Australia.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to sources as shown.

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