Operation: Convoy Escort

Date: 19th April 1944 (Wednesday) Mediterranean Allied Air Force. 1 Group

Unit: No. 458 Squadron RAAF (motto: 'We find and destroy')

Type: Wellington XIV

Serial: HF243

Code: X

Base: RAF Luqa, Malta

Location: RAF Luqa, Malta

Pilot: F/O. Herbert Russell McMillan Aus/409574 RAAF Age 22. Killed

Pilot: W/O. John Michael Wagstaffe 1219231 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

Nav: F/O. Reginald Bulled 125303 RAFVR Age 24. Injured (1)

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgy. Arthur John Huntley Aus/410488 Age 25. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. Robert Henry Williamson 1252008 RAFVR Age 29. Killed

Air/Gnr: W/O. Herwald Graham Clarke Aus/412940 RAAF Age 36. Injured (2)

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off at 16:00 hrs on a convoy escort operation. At 23:00hrs F/O. McMillan and crew were landing on the E-W runway of RAF Luqa, Malta after completing the mission.

At approximately 1,000 feet the port engine cut out and caught fire and crashed at RAF Luqa on landing. The aircraft at the time of the crash was carrying depth charges. Four of the crew were killed

W/O. Herwald Graham Clarke sustained serious injuries and some burns. He spent several weeks recuperating in the Malta Military hospital before returning to active service. F/O. Reginald Bulled was thrown through the side of the Wellington on impact and sustained fractures of the left leg and right arm and a slight fracture of the spine. Despite his injuries, the extreme heat from the fire and the danger that the load of eight depth charges might explode at any moment Bullen entered the blazing aircraft and pulled out the unconscious wireless operator W/O. Clarke]. For his brave and gallant action F/O. Bullen was awarded the George Medal for Bravery. After recovering from his injuries he was classified as unfit for active service and reassigned to administrative duties.

Citation (London Gazette – 14TH September 1945):

'On the night of the 19th April 1944, this officer was navigator of a Wellington aircraft which crashed on landing and burst into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed and four members of the crew were killed. Flight Lieutenant Bullen was thrown through the side of the aircraft as it burst open and sustained fractures of the left leg and right arm and a slight fracture of the spine. The heat was intense and ammunition was exploding. There was also the additional danger that eight depth charges might explode at any moment. Despite this and his severe injuries Flight Lieutenant Bullen made his way inside the blazing aircraft to the wireless operator and dragged him to a safe distance, clear of the flames. When the ambulance arrived on the scene Flight Lieutenant Bullen was in great pain and was quickly removed to sick quarters. His very brave and gallant action, performed when suffering such intense pain from his own injuries, undoubtedly saved the life of the wireless operator.'

His first posting was to 39 (Beaufort) Squadron, flying torpedo bomber sorties against enemy shipping in the Mediterranean Theatre. From 39 Squadron Bullen then moved to 458 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force operating Wellington Bombers.

(1) F/O. Reginald Bullen. Born on the19th October 1920. Reg Bullen studied to become a solicitor but enlisted in Royal Air Force after the outbreak of WW2, Once recovered from his injuries, Bullen was certified as unfit for active service. He was reassigned to administrative duties and rose through the ranks. His rise took him to the post of Adjutant-General HQ Allied Air Forces Central Europe between 1965 and 1968. he last RAF appointment Bullen held was Air Officer Administration, Training Command between 1972 and 1975. It was from this post that he retired from the air force and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He retired as a Vice-Marshal CB GM.

Passed away on the 27th January 2008, age 87. Now rests in Hemingford Grey Cemetery, Cambridgeshire, England.

(2) W/O. Herwald Graham Clarke: Born on the 05th July 1908 in Haberfield, Sydney, New South Wales. Worked as a clerk prior to service. Enlisted on the 15th August 1941 in Sydney. Son of Alfred P Clarke and Martha Clarke (née Thomas). Obtained his wireless operator air gunner wings on the 23rd July 1942 and promoted to sergeant. Flight sergeant on the 23rd January 1943 then warrant officer on the 23rd January 1944. Awarded his commission to pilot officer on the 20th March 1945 and the flying officer on the 20th September 1945. Transfer to the reserve on the 16th October 1945.

Passed away on the 27th May 2003, age 94. New South Wales Garden of Remembrance, New South Wales, Australia.

Malta Naval Cemetery (Capuccini).

Burial and other details:

F/O. Herbert Russell McMillan. Malta Naval Cemetery (Capuccini). Prot. Sec. (Officers'). Plot E. Collective grave 23. Born on the 28th November 1921 in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. A clerk prior to service. Enlisted on the 12th September 1941 in Melbourne. Son of Herbert Arthur (died 15th July 1966, age 82) and Gertrude Alice McMillan (died 14th September 1983, age 95),. Brother of Allan, of Thornbury, Victoria, Australia. Epitaph: 'His Duty Fearlessly And Nobly Done. Our Son Ever Remembered'.

W/O. John Michael Wagstaffe. Malta Naval Cemetery (Capuccini). Prot. Sec. (Men's). Plot F. Collective grave 49. Born in July 1922 at Keighley, West Yorkshire. Son of Frederick Foster (died 20th November 1951) and Christina Wagstaffe (née Barrett - died 1963). of Bingley, Yorkshire, England. Brother of Jane Christine Wagstaffe (died 2005, age 85) Husband of Pauline Belmont Hilda Wagstaffe (married July 1943 - née Ward - died December 2013, age 89).

Above L-R: F/O. Herbert McMillan, W/O. John Wagstaffe, Fl/Sgy. Arthur Huntley and Fl/Sgt. Robert Williamson.

Fl/Sgy. Arthur John Huntley. Malta Naval Cemetery (Capuccini). Prot. Sec. (Men's). Plot F. Collective grave 49. Born on the 05th October 1918 in Mornington, Victoria. Worked as an Orchardist prior to service. Enlisted on the 30th January 1942 in Melbourne. Son of Percy William (died 01st February 1959, age 71) and Nellie Jane Huntley, of Merricks North, Victoria, Australia. (née Mulready - died 06th November 1980, age 85) Epitaph: 'For The Cause Of Justice God, King And Country. Ever Remembered'.

Fl/Sgt. Robert Henry Williamson. Malta Naval Cemetery (Capuccini). Prot. Sec. (Men's). Plot F. Collective grave 49. Worked as an accountant for Whitchurch Rural District Council prior to service. Won a scholarship to the Cardiff Technical College. Son of James Robert and Ellen Maria Williamson, (married 18th September 1912 - née Preston) of 28 Cowbridge Road, Bridgend, Glamorgan, South Wales.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to the National Archive Kew, McGuiness RAAF Archives, National Archives Australia, London Gazette. Ancestry Military Images Forum.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
All site material (except as noted elsewhere) is owned or managed by Aircrew Remembered and should not be used without prior permission.
© Aircrew Remembered 2012 - 2024 Last Modified: 10 July 2024, 14:01