LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Leslie Harold JENKE
Service No: 8868
Born: Eudunda SA, 9 January 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 6 February 1940 (at RAAF Station Laverton VIC)
Unit: No. 13 Aircraft Repair Depot, Breddan QLD
Died: Aircraft Accident (QANTAS Lodestar aircraft VH-CAB), near Wards Strip, 26 November 1943, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, PNG
CWGC Additional Information: Son of August Paul and Emily Martha Jenke, of Point Pass, South Australia
Roll of Honour: Point Pass SA
Remembered: Panel 113, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
On 26 November 1943, Lockheed Lodestar aircraft registration VH-CAB crashed just after takeoff from Wards Strip enroute from Port Moresby to Townsville. The aircraft was operated by QANTAS. There were 4 crew members and 11 passengers on board, all of whom were killed.
The crew members were:
Squadron Leader William Godfrey Campbell (261730) (Pilot) RAAF Reserve
Flight Sergeant Neil Grosvenor Evan (417064) (Radio Operator) QANTAS Secondment
Pilot Officer John Randolph Fleming Henderson (410863) (Second Pilot) RAAF Reserve
Flying Officer Keith George Little (267726) (Purser) RAAF Reserve
The passengers were:
Captain John W Baish (O-0384600) (US Army)
Lieutenant Colonel John Benedict Bolger (NX462)
Second Lieutenant John E Brown (O-1798348) (US Army)
Colonel Frank O Dewey (O-11386) (US Army)
Lieutenant Colonel Clive Valentine Ferrey (37572) (British Army)
Flight Sergeant Leslie Harold Jenke (8868) No. 13 Aircraft Repair Depot, Breddan QLD
Mr Robert E Lewis (280) (US Civilian) (Red Cross War Correspondent)
Lieutenant Colonel Edward John Marston (VX39064) (Australian Army)
Major John Francis McCarthy (NX7195) (Australian Army)
Staff Sergeant Vincent W Novak (33362619) (US Army)
Mr Harry H Poage (202) (US Civilian) (Red Cross War Correspondent)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/20/82
Bibliography:
Bennett-Bremner, E. Front Line Airline: The War Story of QANTAS Empire Airways Limited, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1944
Fysh, H. (Sir Hudson) QANTAS at War, Angus and Robertson, Sydney NSW, 1968