LEST WE FORGET
Lieutenant Donald Curdie BLACK
From Australia serving in the Royal Air Force
Service No: Not Assigned
Unit: No. 5 Training Depot Station
Died: Aircraft Accident, Lincolnshire, 23 April 1918, Aged 19 Years
Buried: Hampstead Cemetery, London
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Archibald John and Agnes Black, of 27 Harrington Gardens, London. Born at Mount Noorat, Victoria, Australia
Remembered: Commemorative Roll, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 23 April 1918, Lieutenant Black and Second Lieutenant Charles Lawton Smuts RAF were killed when BE2e aircraft B4547 crashed near Stamford, Lincolnshire. The accident occurred when the aileron compensating cable jumped off its pulley and jammed during a right hand turn, resulting in the loss of control. The aircraft went into a half spin and nose-dived into the ground.
References:
Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
National Archives UK RAF Casualty Card 265443, 24057