LEST WE FORGET

Flight Sergeant Ian Stanley GORDON MID

Service No: 408807
Born: Cohuna VIC, 26 July 1914
Enlisted in the RAAF: 23 May 1941
Unit: No. 235 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Leuchars, Fifeshire
Awarded the Mentioned in Despatches (MID)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 235 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft JL874), off the Norwegian Coast, 1 May 1943, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Stanley Gordon, and of Mary Anne Gordon, of Parkville West, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Cohuna VIC
Remembered: Panel 192, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 122, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

On 1 May 1943 Beaufighter JL874 took off from Leuchars together with 17 other Beaufighters as fighter escort to 9 torpedo Beaufighters on a sweep along the Norwegian Coast from Lister Light to Stavenger Fiord. The visibility along the coast was good with a cloudless sky. The formation was attacked by 8 enemy fighters off Stavanger, and JL874 was last seen astern of the main formation in combat with 4 or 5 enemy aircraft. Nothing was seen or heard from the aircraft after this encounter and it did not return to base. Following post war enquiries and investigations when no trace of the missing aircraft or crew could be found, it was recorded in 1949 that the missing members crew had lost their lives at sea.

The crew members of JL874 were:

Flying Officer Charles Coleman (130307) (RAFVR) (Navigator (BW))
Flight Sergeant Ian Stanley Gordon MID (408807) (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, 166/16/74

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