LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant James Frederick ALLEN
Service No: 405616
Born: Brisbane QLD, 28 August 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 27 April 1941
Unit: Royal Air Force Station, Poona
Died: Motor Vehicle Accident, Poona, India, 1 September 1943, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Kirkee War Cemetery, India
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Robert George Cary Allen and Selena Lucelle Allen, of Greenslopes, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 118, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 1 September 1943, Flight Sergeant Allen a Navigator Bomb Aimer, and Flight Sergeant James Sinclair Stodart (405609) (Discharged: 17 December 1945) left the Air Transit Pool camp at Poona at 1730 hours and cycled into town. They went straight to the Capitol Cinema for an 1830 session and came out about 2030 hours. They then went to a Chinese restaurant where they met Flight Sergeant Harmshaw (RAF). All had dinner together and at 2100 hours proceeded to ride back to the camp. Allen and Stodart had torches and Harmshaw had a bicycle lamp. Stodart was in front, Harmshaw behind and Allen was last.
After travelling for some distance a car was observed approaching near the centre of the road without lights. Stodart swerved over to the extreme left of the road and was followed by Harmshaw. Neither saw what happened, but Harmshaw felt a bump from the front wheel of Allen’s bike, and then heard the bike fall. He heard a dull thus and immediately stopped. He looked back and saw Allen’s bike lying 3 to 4 yards from the left side of the road and about a yard from the centre of the road. Allen was lying in the middle of the road about 4 to 5 yards from the bike and was bleeding badly from the nose and the mouth and was breathing with difficulty. He died shortly after before a Medical Officer arrived a little later. The Medical Officer said the injuries were consistent with a direct impact.
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, 166/3/100