LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman Raymond Thomas COOPER
Service No: 428633
Born: Cootamundra NSW, 25 June 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 8 December 1942
Unit: No. 5 Service Flying Training School, Uranquinty NSW
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 5 Service Flying Training School Wirraway aircraft A20-215), The Rock NSW, 8 August 1943, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Wagga Wagga War Cemetery, NSW
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Thomas Cooper and Louisa Annie Cooper, of Cootamundra
Roll of Honour: Cootamundra NSW
Remembered: Panel 115, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cootamundra War Memorial, Cootamundra NSW
On 8 August 1943, Wirraway aircraft A20-215 and A20-584 had a mid-air collision 3 kms west of the Rock (near Uranquinty), New South Wales, resulting in three fatalities. The crew members were:
A20-215
Leading Aircraftman Raymond Thomas Cooper (428633)
Pilot Officer Leonard Hardie White (413809) (Pilot) Killed in an aircraft accident, 26 November 1943
A20-584
Leading Aircraftman John Christopher Chantler (422931)
Warrant Officer Frank Kenneth Smith (407450) (Pilot)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9845, 174
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Wirraway, Boomerang and CA-15 in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1991