LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant John FORREST
Service No: 406754
Born: Picton Junction WA, 9 July 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 31 March 1941
Unit: No. 13 Squadron, Darwin NT
Died: Air Raid: Darwin, 16 March 1942, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Adelaide River War Cemetery, NT
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Ernest Forrester Forrest and Flora Evire Forrest, of Picton Junction, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 100, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
On the 16th there was a determined air attack on Darwin by 14 bombers in which two RAAF ground staff were killed and eight others and an American serviceman were wounded. Materially the raiders achieved only a direct bomb hit on the kitchen of the officers’ mess and slight damage to one Hudson.
Extract from Gillison, D.N. (Douglas Napier) (254475) Royal Australian Air Force 1939-1942, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1962 – Page 469
On 16 March, 14 Type 96 “Nell” bombers raided Darwin, damaging the building area. The Officers’ Mess had a direct hit. Two RAAF personnel were killed and ten wounded. In 13 Squadron, Sergeant John Forrest was one of those killed, and Sergeant Herbert Gear was seriously injured. They had arrived only the day before, and were crew members of a Hudson landing as the raid started.
Extract from Grantham, S.R. (Sidney Richard) (6590) The 13 Squadron Story, S.R. Grantham, Dee Why NSW 2099, 1991 – Pages 65
The two RAAF members killed were Sergeant John Forrest (406754) and Pilot Officer Thomas Orsmond Littlejohn (3552).
Those members injured were:
Aircraftman Class 1 Walter Charles Aumont (40029) Slightly injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 30 July 1946
Aircraftman Class 1 Maurice Arthur Bevan (38801) Slightly injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 9 January 1946
Leading Aircraftman Patrick Ronald Connor (16021(A511)) Slightly injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 30 November 1960
Leading Aircraftman John Joseph Ennis (39845) Slightly injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 29 July 1944
Sergeant Herbert Gear (406478) Seriously injured, Discharged from the RAAF on 13 December 1945.
Private Grube (J3003617) (US Army Ordnance Corps) Slightly injured
Leading Aircraftman Leslie Roger George Gibbins (32581) Seriously injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 5 November 1945
Aircraftman Class 1 Benjamin Morris (35731) Slightly injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 22 September 1945
Aircraftman Class 1 John Dudley Worthington (60825) Slightly injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 10 September 1945
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 A705, 163/113/188
Bibliography:
Gaston, Bruce DFC (406646), Harry Horner DFC OAM (406595), Raymond Storer (406666) (Editors), Aircrew for the Duration: of and by members of RAAF EATS Courses 10, 11, 12 & 13, Gaston Horner and Storer, Nedlands WA, 1990
Vincent, D. (David) The RAAF Hudson Story Book 1, D. Vincent Highbury SA 5089, 1989
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Anson, Hudson and Sunderland in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1992