LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Charles Carr ATKIN
Service No: 12316
Born: Armidale NSW, 5 January 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 19 February 1940
Unit: No. 28 Operational Training Unit (RAF)
Died: Air Operations (No. 28 Operational Training Unit Wellington aircraft Z1109), Netherlands, 4 March 1943, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Flushing (Vlissingen) Northern Cemetery, Netherlands
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George and Amy Atkin; husband of Jessie Hamilton Atkin, of East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: West Maitland NSW
Remembered: Panel 118, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1946 hours on the 4 March 1943, Wellington Z1109 took off from RAF Station Wymeswold detailed to drop leaflets at Breskens, Netherlands. The aircraft crashed near Breskens and two of the crew members were killed and three became Prisoners of War.
The crew members of Z1109 were:
Flight Sergeant Charles Carr Atkin (12316) (Pilot)
Sergeant C Gunning (1315314) (RAFVR) (Navigator) PoW
Sergeant G S Loveday (1303116) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber) PoW
Sergeant Joseph Anthony Molloy (1621707) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Sergeant R H Roskell (1030795) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner) PoW
The following is a summary of radio communications to and from the aircraft Station Signals intercepted an MF Fix 50.40N.01.33E, second Class passed to the aircraft by Fulham at 2245 hours. This was acknowledged by the aircraft and was the last word heard from the aircraft, except that it told Fulham that it would call later. Stanmore checked up their RDF Plots and reported that an aircraft had turned south east from the position of the Fix for about 20 miles, then turned north or perhaps north east, and near Calais definitely went north east. The height then was about 13,000 feet as far as a position over the sea about 30 miles west of The Hague. The plot then faded at 6,000 feet and it was thought possible that the aircraft crashed in Holland.”
Sergeant Gunning later stated: “I had plenty of time to get out of the aircraft. I was the last to see Charles. I landed about a mile inland, but if Charles was a good swimmer, as we were led to believe, he could certainly have made the coast as he could not have landed more that two miles out.” Sergeant Loveday a POW reported: “The aircraft was hit by ack-ack fire in the vicinity of Flushing, Holland. At 5,000 feet the Captain ordered bale out.”
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, 166/4/15