LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant John George BEILBY
Service No: 414456
Born: Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, 31 January 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 October 1941(at Brisbane QLD)
Unit: No. 21 Operational Training Unit (RAF), RAF Station Moreton-in-Marsh
Died: Air Operations (No. 21 Operational Training Unit Wellington aircraft LN878), North Sea, 24 April 1944, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Beilby, of South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; husband of Irene Joy Beilby, of Terrace, British Columbia, Canada
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 261, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 118, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 24 April 1944 Wellington LN878 took off from Moreton-in-Marsh on a day cross country exercise. The last known position of the aircraft was a fix which placed LN878 80 miles east of
Hull. The aircraft failed to return to base after the exercise. Subsequent reports show that the Wireless Operator had contacted numerous stations during the trip and was well up to his job. He would have taken correct action in distress had he had time. There was no evidence to show how the aircraft became lost. From the way the plot faded suddenly there is a strong possibility that it had been shot down by enemy fighters. Subsequent searches found no trace of the missing aircraft or crew. Following post war enquiries and investigations it was recorded in 1949 that the missing crew members had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of LN878 were:
Sergeant John George Beilby (414456) (Pilot)
Sergeant John Henry Dunn (1337677) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant William Lane (1894750) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Murdo Donald Davidson MacFarlane (432219) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant Edward Allan Nayler (425885) (Wireless Operator/Air 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 Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/5/507