LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman Cyril Ernest HARDING
Service No: 64059
Born: Scone NSW, 26 January 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 20 April 1942
Unit: No. 5 Operational Training Unit
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 5 Operational Training Unit Beaufort aircraft A9-450), Cootamundra NSW, 16 March 1944, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Cootamundra War Cemetery, New South Wales
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Cyril Francis and Doris Myra Harding, of Aberdeen
Roll of Honour: Muswellbrook NSW
Remembered: Panel 112, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Muswellbrook War Memorial, Muswellbrook NSW
At 1700 hours on 16 March 1944, Beaufort A9-450 flown by Flight Lieutenant McDonald took off from Cootamundra aerodrome on a non-operational travel flight. Shortly after becoming airborne, at about 150 feet altitude the port engine faltered and then cut out. Due to the nature of the terrain the pilot was forced to turn left. During the turn the starboard engine cut out causing the aircraft to swing into a turn to the right. The pilot then headed the aircraft into a small valley, and it finally crashed on the side of a small thinly timbered hill 3 miles south west of Cootamundra. Within a few seconds of coming to rest the starboard engine caught fire, and all on board vacated the aircraft with the exception of Leading Aircraftman Harding. Flight Lieutenant McDonald went to his assistance and discovered Harding caught in the rear portion of the fuselage. He endeavoured to drag him out, but Harding’s feet were jammed in the flooring of the machine. Flight Lieutenant Coote then went to assist McDonald but to no avail. The aircraft was burning furiously and they had to desist with their rescue efforts.
The crew members of A9-450 were:
Flight Lieutenant William John Francis Coote (253938) (Pilot) Killed in an Aircraft Accident: 3 July 1944
Flight Sergeant John Stewart Gleeson (436077) (Navigator W) Discharged from the RAAF: 12 February 1946
Leading Aircraftman Cyril Ernest Harding (64059) (Fitter II Engines, Supernumerary)
Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Lawrence Hiller DFC (400829) (Pilot) Discharged from the RAAF: 12 December 1945
Flight Sergeant William Murray Hilton (436080) (Navigator W) Discharged from the RAAF: 8 February 1946
Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Neal McDonald DFC (400207) (A9-450 Pilot) Discharged from the RAAF: 16 November 1945
Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Michael Abbott Smith (401805) (Pilot) Discharged from the RAAF: 21 May 1946
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/17/504; A9845, 258
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990