LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Nial Thurlow BYRNE
Service No: 403685
Born: Gatton QLD, 9 July 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 2 March 1941 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 142 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Grimsby
Died: Air Operations (No. 142 Squadron Wellington aircraft Z1219), off the German Coast, 23 September 1942, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Gerald and Anne Marie Byrne, of Gatton, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 112, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 119, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1902 hours on 23 September 1942 Wellington Z1219 together with other Squadron aircraft took off from Grimsby detailed to carry out mine laying operations in the Heligoland Bight. The route was from Base – Saltfleet – 54.30N 008.00E – St Peter’s Head – 54.01N 008.13E – 54.16N 06.00E – Saltfleet – Base. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and Z1219 did not return to base. The body of one crew members was recovered from the sea at the Island of Pellorm, one of the group of Haligen Islands off the north west coast of Germany. It was recorded in 1949 that the remaining missing crew members had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of Z1219 were:
Sergeant Nial Thurlow Byrne (403685) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Sergeant William John Godly (1310251) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Sergeant Richard Lind (1271095) (RAFVR) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flight Sergeant Leslie Arthur Seamark DFM (1179274) (RAFVR) (Pilot) Remains recovered
Sergeant Alfred Trewin (1220162) (RAFVR) (Front 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, 163/94/294