LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Charles Theodore Godfrey COWARD
Service No: 414003
Born: Auckland, New Zealand, 7 February 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 20 July 1941 (at Brisbane QLD)
Unit: No. 42 Squadron (RAF), St Thomas Mount
Died: Aircraft Accident (Hurricane aircraft KW920), off the Indian Coast, 22 November 1943, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Charles and Doris Marjorie Coward, of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Column 429, Singapore Memorial, Singapore
Remembered: Panel 120, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Flying Officer Coward lost his life when flying Hurricane KW920 on a non-operational flight in
India on 22 November 1943. Both KW920 and LB687 flown by Flight Sergeant James Stephens (1294418) (RAFVR) collided and crashed into the sea about 3 miles east of the coast guard station at Coverlong which is about 20 miles south of Madras. Both aircraft took off from their base at 1020 hours to try out practice quarter attacks with cine guns, and the aircraft were seen to collide at 1045 hours. One pilot was seen to bale out and the other not, and a search of the area by MT boats recovered parts of wrecked aircraft and the parachute and wallet of Flying Officer Coward. Both pilots are recorded as missing lost at sea.
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, 166/8 300