LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant William Mervyn SYMMONS
Service No: 404129
Born: Brisbane QLD, 28 February 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 24 May 1940
Unit: No. 149 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Mildenhall
Died: Air Operations: (No. 149 Squadron Wellington aircraft R1343), France, 2 July 1941 Aged 22 Years
Buried: Brest (Kerfautras) Cemetery, Finistere, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Herbert and Josephine Symmons, of Hamilton, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 131, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2238 hours on the night of 1 July 1941 Wellington R1343 took off from Mildenhall to bomb Brest, France. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take and it failed to return to base. The aircraft crashed in the target area and all the crew members were killed.
The crew members of R1343 were:
Sergeant Robert Harland Crafts (18074A) (RCAF) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Anthony Robert James Harrison (812347) (RAF (Auxiliary Air Force)) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant William James Megran (901032) (RAFVR) (Observer)
Sergeant Cecil Charles Reidmuller (979560) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Standish Locksley St Vincent-Welch (402141) (Pilot)
Sergeant William Mervyn Symmons (404129) (Pilot)
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 Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9301, 404129