LEST WE FORGET

Flying Officer Kenneth William GALE DFC

Service No: 404241
Born: Brisbane QLD, 12 April 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 19 July 1940
Unit: No. 627 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Woodhall Spa
Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), 21 April 1944
Died: Air Operations: (No. 627 Squadron Mosquito aircraft DZ353), France, 9 June 1944, Aged 24 Years
Buried: St-Erblon Communal Cemetery, Ille-et-Vilaine, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William James Gale and Margaret Frances Gale, of Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Gladstone QLD
Remembered: Panel 122, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

DFC Citation (for service with No. 617 Squadron (RAF)): “Flying Officer Gale has accomplished numerous operations, the majority of which have been accomplished in the Middle East and the remainder from Great Britain. Throughout his operational career, this officer has maintained a fine reputation for determination in the face of the enemy. The aircraft in which he was navigator has, on several occasions been damaged by the enemy and has subsequently been forced to make crash landings, but these incidents have not arrested this officer’s determination to bring every operational flight to a successful conclusion. (London Gazette 21 April 1944 Page 1838)

On the night of 8 June 1944, Mosquito DZ353 took off from Woodhall Spa detailed to bomb rail facilities at Rennes, France. The aircraft sent a message which was picked up by another aircraft from the Squadron, which said the aircraft had been hit and was on fire. DZ353 failed to return to base. The aircraft crashed between Orgeres (Ille-et-Vilaine) and St-Erblon, two villages south of Rennes. Both the crew members were killed.

The crew members of DZ353 were:

Flying Officer Kenneth William Gale DFC (404241) (Navigator Bomb aimer)
Flight Lieutenant Harry Steere DFC DFM (46016) (RAF) (Pilot)

Flight Lieutenant Steere was a former Battle of Britain pilot who flew Spitfires with No 19 Squadron (RAF).

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, 166/15/263

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