LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Albert Thomas FRASER
Service No: 416561
Born: West Lothian, Scotland, 15 May 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 21 July 1941 (at Adelaide SA)
Unit: No. 102 Squadron (RAF), RAF Pocklington, Yorkshire
Died: Air Operations (No. 102 Squadron Halifax aircraft BB249), Belgium, 10 July 1943, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Florennes Communal Cemetery, Florennes, Namur, Belgium
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Thomas Mouat Anderson Fraser and Lilian Fraser, of West Croydon, South Australia
Roll of Honour: Woodville SA
Remembered: Panel 122, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
Halifax BB249 took off from RAF Pocklington at 2311 hours on the night of 9 July 1943, detailed to bomb Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was shot down by a night fighter and crashed at 0240 hours on 10th July 1943 at Eprave (Namur) 4 kms south west of Rochefort, Belgium. Four of the crew members were killed and three became Prisoners of War.
The crew members of BB249 were:
Sergeant R N Brand (1391823) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber) PoW
Sergeant H Edwards (618706) (RAF) (Air Gunner) PoW
Flight Sergeant Albert Thomas Fraser (416561) (Pilot)
Sergeant Ronald Frank Glass (RCAF) (R/180332) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant John George Herbert Mansell (1190925) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Willie Morse (622725) (RAF) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant T E Stockton (656840) (RAF) (Navigator) PoW
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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/14/33