LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Kenneth Raymond Champion CARTER
Service No: 401027
Born: Bristol, England, 8 April 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 8 December 1940 (at Melbourne VIC)
Unit: No. 34 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 34 Squadron Blenheim aircraft V5636), Malaya, 28 December 1941, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Raymond Victor Champion Carter and Prudence Maude Carter, of Purley, Surrey, England
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Column 412, Singapore Memorial, Singapore
Remembered: Panel 120, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Blenheim V5636 was reported missing on air operations in Malaya on 28 December 1941. The night time mission encountered rough weather 2 hours from Singapore, and a very small percentage of aircraft reached the target area. Sergeant Carter was heard to ask for a Direction Finding (D/F) bearing some 4.5 hours after take off by Far East Command who notified Tengah D/F Station. The station faintly heard V5636 and then the contact faded. The D/F station called continuously with nil response, and the aircraft did not return to base. It was later recorded that the missing crew members had no known graves.
The crew members of V5636 were:
Sergeant Kenneth Raymond Champion Carter (401027) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant Ronald Edwin Hill (40705) (RAF) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Robert John Rayner (580380) (RAF) (Observer)
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, 163/95/201