LEST WE FORGET
Flight Lieutenant George Henry HARVEY
Service No: 414025
Born: Gympie QLD, 25 August 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 20 July 1941
Unit: No. 61 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Skellingthorpe
Died: Air Operations: (No. 61 Squadron Lancaster aircraft DV399), Germany, 29 December 1943, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George Henry and Louisa Ellen Harvey, of Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Gympie QLD
Remembered: Panel 123, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1622 hours on 29 December 1943 Lancaster DV399 took off from Skellingthorpe detailed to bomb Berlin. Two radio messages were received from the aircraft which had been detailed to check the wind directions and velocities. The second message was received at 2300 hours and it was assumed that the aircraft was lost on the homeward journey. A Missing Research and Enquiry unit report stated “the aircraft crashed on 29 December in the vicinity of Augsdorf and Heiligenthal, which is 16 miles north west of Halle, Germany.” Six of the crew members were killed and one was taken prisoner.
The crew members of DV399 were:
Flight Sergeant Reginald Walter Carver (1393968) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Flight Lieutenant George Henry Harvey (414025) (Pilot)
Sergeant James Stuart Kennedy (948904) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Noel Stephen Joseph Meehan (551830) (RAF) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Kenneth Prouten (1322305) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Richard Stuart (1681268) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Pilot Officer D F Thomas (J/19117) (RCAF) (Mid Upper Gunner) PoW
Pilot Officer Thomas later reported “the aircraft was hit by flak south of Magdeburg. It caught fire and the abandon order was given. I did not see the Captain leave the aircraft.”
W R Chorley states “the aircraft was hit by flak which caused a serious fire in the bomb bay and fuselage. Thomas tried to put the fire out and while doing so there was a small explosion. He was out of contact with the rest of the crew, but in the flames he saw Stuart preparing to bale out. Shortly after Thomas made his exit, the aircraft exploded.”
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Chorley W R, Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, Volume 4 Aircraft and Aircrew Losses 1943, Midland Counties Publications UK, 1996
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/171/419