LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman Douglas Milne FINLEY
Service No: 72896
Born: Narrandera NSW, 10 May 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 17 November 1942
Unit: No. 15 Squadron, Camden, NSW
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 15 Squadron Beaufort aircraft A9-566), off QLD Coast, 11 March 1945, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Thomas Edward and Anne Finley, of Darlington Point New South Wales.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 7, Sydney Memorial, Rookwood NSW
Remembered: Panel 101, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Darlington Point Memorial Centre and Gates, Darlington Point NSW
Remembered: Griffith Cenotaph, Griffith NSW
Beaufort aircraft A9-566 went missing on 11 March 1945 on a flight from Camden NSW to Madang PNG and was last reported over Bowen QLD. Despite extensive searches, no trace was found of the aircraft or the crew.
The crew members of A9-566 were:
Leading Aircraftman Douglas Milne Finley (72896) (Fitter IIE, Supernumerary)
Warrant Officer John Norton Mossop (407846) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Squadron Leader Arthur John Sharp (402140) (Pilot)
Warrant Officer Ernest Andrew Thompson (408889) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flight Lieutenant Tristam Wilfred Pascoe Williams (26792) (Wireless Air Gunner)
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, 252
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990