LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Gilbert Victor WILLIAMS DFC
Service No: 416053
Born: West Adelaide SA, 24 April 1911
Enlisted in the RAAF: 3 March 1941
Unit: No. 35 Squadron (RAF), RAF Graveley, Cambridgeshire
Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), 12 February 1946 (Citation Title: No. 35 Squadron (RAF))
Died: Air Operations (No. 35 Squadron Lancaster aircraft PB199), North West Europe, 29 November 1944, Aged 33 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Richard Arthur and Triphina Mabel Williams; husband of Lillian Gwenyth Williams, of Dulwich. South Australia.
Roll of Honour: Port Elliot SA
Remembered: Panel 258, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
DFC Citation: Flying Officer G V Williams, an air bomber, has completed numerous operations against the enemy, in the course of which he has invariably displayed the utmost fortitude, courage and devotion to duty.
Lancaster PB199 of No 35 (Madras Presidency) Squadron, Path Finder Force, took off at 1321 hours on 29 November 1944 to attack Dortmund, Germany. Nothing further was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base. Following post war enquiries and investigations it was recorded that the missing crew had no known grave.
The crew members of PB 199 were:
Flight Sergeant John Mitchell Cruikshank (1568887) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant James Alexander Mathison (1344764) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator)
Pilot Officer Geoffrey Simpson (185530) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Flying Officer John Herbert Thorpe DFC (172216) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant William Turnbull (1820580) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flying Officer Gilbert Victor Williams DFC (416053) (Air Bomber)
Pilot Officer James Arthur Wynn (185570) (RAF) (Rear Gunner)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
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, 166/43/1003