LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant William James ALLAN
Service No: 409130
Born: Yarrawonga VIC, 10 June 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 19 July 1941
Unit: No. 166 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Kirmington
Died: Air Operations: (No. 166 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ME624), Germany, 31 March 1944, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Hanover War Cemetery, Niedersachsen, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James Harold and Linda Rosalind Allan, of Murrumbeena, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Murrumbeena VIC
Remembered: Panel 118, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Lancaster ME624 was one of twenty-six No. 166 Squadron aircraft that took off from Kirmingham, Lincolnshire, on the night of 30/31 March 1944 to bomb Nurnberg, Germany. Nothing was heard from ME624 after take off and it did not return to base. The ground defences were slight but fighter opposition was heavy. Two of the squadron aircraft were engaged in combat, and four squadron aircraft were shot down on this mission. Following post war enquiries and interviews with the local authorities at Giessen, it was established that the aircraft crashed and exploded on impact at Wiseck on 31 March 1944 as a result of enemy action. Flight Sergeant Kiegwin survived the crash and became a prisoner.
The crew members of ME624 were:
Sergeant William James Allan (409130) (Rear Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Roy Barton Fennell (1318683) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Douglas Venning Harvey (420835) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Albert Patrick Jones (929021) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Sergeant W J C Kiegwin (1316269) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber) PoW
Sergeant William George Sydney Pettis (1851255) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant James Smyth (1504638) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
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 A705, 166/3/194