LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant William George BRADY
Service No: 428583
Born: Echuca VIC, 15 October 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 26 November 1942
Unit: No. 289 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 289 Squadron Hurricane aircraft LF599), Scotland, 13 February 1945, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Edinburgh (Corstorphine Hill) Cemetery, Scotland
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James Francis and Vera Gertrude Brady, of Echuca, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Echuca VIC
Remembered: Panel 119, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Brother of Sergeant James Maxwell Brady (400502)
At 1455 hours on 13 February 1945, Hurricane LF599 crashed while engaged in an non-operational anti-aircraft battery cooperation exercise and Flight Sergeant Brady was killed. A Flying Accident Inquiry into the accident reported that: “the aircraft took off at 1,400 hours for ack-ack cooperation which involved flying straight and level at 5/7,000 feet. The aircraft was fit for flying and had been flown by the same Pilot earlier in the day for one and a half hours. The main cloud base was at 2,500 feet with the main tops at 4,000 feet and the occasional cumulus to about 14,000 feet. The aircraft was in normal radio communication with the Sector Operations Room from take-off, and at 1449 hours the Pilot was given s course to steer and he acknowledged, stating he was at 7,000 feet. At 1455 hours Operations called the Pilot but there was no reply, and another aircraft flying in the vicinity called immediately. After that there was no response Operations was informed a few minutes later that a single engine unidentified aircraft had flown into the Firth of Forth, Fifeshire. A Squadron Leader from RAF Servicing Wing later reported: “an examination of the wreckage is consistent with the aircraft impacting while pulling out of a high speed dive and that there was no indication of any structural failure.”
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, 166/6/949