LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Michael Albert Edward BRADFORD
Service No: 411478
Born: Katoomba NSW, 24 September 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 24 May 1941
Unit: No. 35 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Graveley
Died: Air Operations (No. 35 Squadron Halifax aircraft HR678), Germany, 15 April 1943, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Rheinberg War Cemetery, Kamp-Lintfort, Nordrhein-Westfal, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Grandson of Mrs. E. Bradford, of Willoughby, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 119, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2128 hours on the night of 14 April 1943 Halifax HR678 took off from Graveley to bomb Stuttgart, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. It was later established that the aircraft was shot down from 18,000 feet by a night fighter.
It was seen approaching the village of Germershein and after circling the village it crashed and exploded on impact. Four of the crew members had been killed and three were taken prisoner.
The crew members of HR678 were:
Flight Sergeant Michael Albert Edward Bradford (411478) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant T L Brown (570690) (RAF) (Flight Engineer) PoW
Flight Sergeant Frederick Hay (1002505) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant T G O’Shaughnessy (1262920) (RAFVR) (Navigator) PoW
Flight Sergeant F W Vincent (1174030) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner) PoW
Flying Officer Ronald Wheatley (412053) (Bomb Aimer)
Pilot Officer Ronald Edward Wilkes DFM (141103) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant O’Shaughnessy later reported “I regret I have no real information concerning Bradford. I do not know if he was able to leave the aircraft. I do however, and this is only my opinion, believe him to be killed.”
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, 166/6/105