LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Geoffrey Maurice CONNELL
Service No: 420377
Born: Albury NSW, 7 May 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 7 November 1941
Unit: No. 295 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Hurn
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 295 Squadron Whitley aircraft LA856), near Bournemouth, 24 July 1943, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Christchurch Cemetery, Hampshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Geoffrey Charles and Reba Kathleen Connell, of Tumblong, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Gundagai NSW
Remembered: Panel 120, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Gundagai ANZAC Park War Memorial, Gundagai NSW
Remembered: Gundagai War Memorial, Gundagai NSW
At 1247 hours on 24 July 1943, Whitley LA856 crashed two miles north of Bournemouth. Dual instruction was being given on the aircraft type, when the port engine failed after take-off. It was believed that the crash was due to a glycol leak and the three crew members were killed.
The crew members of LA856 were:
Flight Sergeant Geoffrey Maurice Connell (420377) (Air Gunner)
Squadron Leader John Noel Wilmot Kerr (43101) (RAF) (Instructor Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Thomas Harold Payne (413418) (Pilot)
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, 166/8/174
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line