LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Allan Thomas FITZPATRICK DFM
Service No: 414015
Born: Brisbane QLD, 14 July 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 20 July 1941
Unit: No. 627 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Woodhall Spa
Awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 627 Squadron Mosquito aircraft DZ521), England, 27 September 1944, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Cambridge City Cemetery, Cambridgeshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Nicholas and Florence Alice Fitzpatrick; husband of Margaret Frances Fitzpatrick, of Dulwich, London
Roll of Honour: Maryborough QLD
Remembered: Panel 122, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
DFM Citation: “Flight Sergeant Fitzpatrick, an Australian Air Bomber, has completed 25 operational sorties as a member of a fine operational crew. It is considered that the damage inflicted on the Ruhr by this crew alone in the course of the 17 attacks made in this area is considerable and it is felt that Flight Sergeant Fitzpatrick as Bomb Aimer has played a most important part in achieving this success. This Non Commissioned Officer has taken part in the Battle of Hamburg with equal success and it is felt that his devotion to duty and contribution to the war effort merits the award of the DFM.” Remarks by the Station Commander: “This Bomb Aimer has completed 25 sorties, 17 of which have been over the Ruhr. He is a Bomb Aimer possessed with a strong sense of purpose and crew spirit. He shows disregard for danger in the face of the enemy and I strongly recommend him for the award of the DFM.”
On the night of the 26 September 1944, Mosquito DZ521 took off from Woodhall Spa detailed to bomb Karlsruhe, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. At about 0232 hours a member of the Royal Observation Corps heard and saw an explosion coming from the aircraft which then dived vertically into the ground and both crew members were killed.
The crew members of DZ521 were:
Flying Officer Allan Thomas Fitzpatrick DFM (414015) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flying Officer Andrew Matheson (158113) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
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, 166/13/314