LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Clifford Jack FULLER
Service No: 407028
Born: Adelaide SA, 23 March 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 29 April 1940
Unit: No. 24 Squadron (South African Air Force), Fuka, Egypt
Died: Air Operations (No. 24 Squadron Maryland aircraft AH354), off the Libyan Coast, 5 August 1941, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Walter and Grace Banetta May Fuller, of Glenelg, South Australia
Roll of Honour: Glenelg SA
Remembered: Column 246, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 122, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
Maryland AH354 of 24 Squadron took off on 5 August 1941 to carry out an operational mission at Derna, Cyrenaica. The pilots of accompanying aircraft reported that AH 354 was caught in 10 searchlights and shot down in flames at 2200 hours on 5th August, the aircraft crashing into the sea east of Derna. It was later reported that some bodies from AH354 had been recovered and buried but the graves could not be located. In 1958 it was assumed that Sergeant Fuller had lost his life at sea.
The crew members of AH354 were:
Lieutenant C L Clarkson (47829) (SAAF) (Pilot)
Sergeant Clifford Jack Fuller (407028) (Observer)
Sergeant Gordon Cyril Green (102188) (SAAF) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Henry Avony Read (102230) (SAAF) (Air Gunner)
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, 163/114/18