LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Ernest HARRISON
Service No: 413993
Born: Cardiff NSW, 9 March 1911
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 October 1941
Unit: No. 161 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Tempsford
Died: Air Operations: (No. 161 Squadron Halifax aircraft EB129), France, 11 November 1943, Aged 32 Years
Buried: St-Desir War Cemetery, Calvados, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Alexander Alphonse and Annie Teresa Harrison, of Mosman, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Mosman NSW
Remembered: Panel 123, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1950 hours on the night of 10 November1943 Halifax EB129 took off from Tempsford detailed to carry out an Special Operations Executive (SOE) mission on Operation Trainer 38 Melpomene /Pennyfarthing, heading for France. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft lost control in cloud at 3,000 feet and crashed at 0200 hours on 11 November near Brunelles (Eure-et-Loir), 6 kms east of Nogent-le-Rotrou. Seven of the crew members were killed and one evaded and was later captured.
The crew members of EB129 were:
Sergeant Harold Royston Batten (133486) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Ronald Cotterill (945026) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
First Lieutenant E W Gross (USAF) (Second Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Ernest Harrison (413993) (Mid Gunner)
Pilot Officer Murray Alfred Line (413621) (Pilot)
Flying Officer J G Pilkington (135888) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber) Evaded, then PoW: February 1944
Flight Sergeant Wilfred Raymond Rus Shore (4417) (RCAF) (Rear Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Ernest Reginald Watts (1388097) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
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, 166/17/372