LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Harold John HAYES
Service No: 400518
Born: Sydney NSW, 14 May 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 September 1940 (at Melbourne VIC)
Unit: No. 203 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 203 Squadron Blenheim aircraft Z7902), off the North African Coast, 14 April 1942, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Norman William Victor and Gladys Hayes, of Canterbury, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Camberwell VIC
Remembered: Column 266, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 123, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 0930 hours on 14 April 1942 Blenheim Z7902 took off from Bu Amud to carry out an operational reconnaissance over the Mediterranean. The aircraft was due back at base at 1530 hours, but it failed to return to base. Following post war enquiries and investigations, it was recorded in 1948 that the missing crew members had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of Z7902 were:
Flight Lieutenant Miles Brunette Bowker (80386) (RAFVR) (Pilot) (from South Africa)
Sergeant Harold John Hayes (400581) (Observer)
Sergeant Charles James Silas Parsons (408089) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
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, 163/120/429