LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer Kennedy GOWLETT
Service No: 426457
Born: Toowoomba QLD, 31 March 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 22 June 1942
Unit: No. 464 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 464 Squadron Mosquito aircraft HX920), Germany, 22 February 1945, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Hanover War Cemetery, Niedersachsen, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Benjamin and Anna Margaretha Gowlett, of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Crows Nest QLD
Remembered: Panel 109, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Mosquito HX920 took off from Rosiere en Santerre, France, at 1120 hours on the 22 February 1945, being part of a force of 16 aircraft from the squadron detailed to carry out a daylight raid bombing and strafing enemy communications in Germany. This included trains, trucks, engines, signal boxes, and radio stations. HX920 failed to return from the mission and both crew members lost their lives. The remains of Flying Officer McMahon could not be found.
The crew members of HX920 were:
Pilot Officer Kennedy Gowlett (426457) (Navigator)
Flying Officer Allan John McMahon (422870) (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, 166/16/567
Bibliography:
Lax, M. (Mark) and Leon Kane-Maguire The Gestapo Hunters: 464 Squadron RAAF 1942-5, Banner Books Maryborough QLD 4650, 1999
Vincent, D. (David) Mosquito Monograph: A history of Mosquitoes in Australia and RAAF operations, David Vincent Highbury SA 5089, 1982