LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer John DICKIE
Service No: 420643
Born: Glasgow, Scotland, 16 July 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 9 November 1941 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 299 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Wetherfield
Died: Air Operations: (No. 299 Squadron Stirling aircraft LK241), off the Norwegian Coast, 27 November 1944, Aged 26 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William and Agnes Dickie, of Griffith, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 258, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 121, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Griffith Cenotaph, Griffith NSW
On the evening of 27 November 1944 Stirling LK241 was detailed to fly from Wetherfield on a Special Operations Executive sortie. The sortie entailed dropping containers on a target near Oslo.
The aircraft which took off at 1802 hours was briefed to cross the coast of Norway at 7,000 feet. Five other aircraft were detailed to fly on a similar route, and while anti-aircraft fire was encountered near the dropping zone by the other aircraft, there was no information obtained from them about LK241 which did not return to base. The aircraft was lost and two crew members were killed, three taken prisoner and one was safe.
The crew members of LK241 were:
Sergeant Derrick Norman Bommel (1892627) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer) PoW
Pilot Officer John Dickie (420643) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Stanley Dixon (1047330) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Warrant Officer Robert Kennedy (420224) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 2 November 1945
Flight Sergeant G Marchant (1339607) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber) Safe
Flight Sergeant Joseph Stewart (1564031) (RAFVR) (Navigator/Bomb Aimer) PoW
Marchant stated in his report “in my opinion the aircraft was going to crash and I therefore baled out. I landed at Vigmostad, Norway. I baled out first and the navigator was preparing to leave. No information about the remainder of the crew. The intercom was unserviceable and the aircraft on fire. Think we were diving uncontrolled.” In his statement Kennedy said “we were attacked by two night fighters Ju88 and ME109. No order was heard from the Captain. The intercom was out of action by cannon fire, and the aircraft was diving out of control with the starboard engine on fire. Near Kristansand (Norway).”
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, 166/9/466
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line