LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Geoffrey William DOWNE
Service No: 400463
Born: Auburn VIC, 2 September 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 14 September 1940
Unit: No. 105 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Horsham St Faith
Died: Air Operations: (No. 105 Squadron Mosquito aircraft DK309), Belgium, 15 August 1942, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Gent City Cemetery, Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Ernest James Downe and Mary Hutton Downe, of Balwyn, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Camberwell VIC
Remembered: Panel 121, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1221 hours on 15 August 1942 Mosquito DK309 took off from Horsham St Faith detailed to attack Mainz, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was shot down by an enemy aircraft and the two crew members were killed.
The crew members of DK309 were:
Flying Officer Geoffrey William Downe (400463) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Alfred William Groves DFM (109063) (RAFVR) (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, 163/28/112