LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer John Charles FARDON
Service No: 410472
Born: Corryong VIC, 15 December 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 30 January 1942
Unit: No. 138 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Tempsford
Died: Air Operations: (No. 138 Squadron Halifax aircraft LL289), France, 2 June 1944, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Longue Communal Cemetery, Maine-et-Loire, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Charles and Jessie Ann Fardon, of Corryong, Victoria. Australia
Roll of Honour: Corryong VIC
Remembered: Panel 122, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the night of 1 June 1944 Halifax LL289 took off from Tempsford detailed to carry out a Special Operations Executive (SOE) operation Percy 7. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and five of the crew members were killed and two taken prisoner and both later escaped.
The crew members of LL289 were:
Flight Sergeant Alfred Henry Dickel (1470099) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer John Charles Fardon (410472) (Air Bomber)
Flying Officer Dennis Hargreaves (142090) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Pilot Officer Douglas Anthony Hayman (409996) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer G G Houston (175631) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner) PoW, Escaped
Pilot Officer A Lyall (161432) (RAF) (Rear Gunner) PoW, Escaped
Sergeant Denis Arthur Page (1649720) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Lyall who was injured was returned safe to UK on 23 September and hospitalised. He later reported as follows: “Both Pilot Officer Hayman and Pilot Officer Pardon were killed when the aircraft was shot down by German ground defences when retuning from the mission in France. Five of the crew lost their lives and myself and the Rear Gunner escaped.”
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, 166/13/241