LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Francis James HIESLER
Service No: 404402
Born: Toowoomba QLD, 15 October 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 16 August 1940
Unit: No. 14 Operational Training Unit (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 14 Operational Training Unit Hampden aircraft AD988), Rutland, 16 March 1942, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Cottesmore (St Nicholas) Cemetery Extension, Rutland
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Charles Frederick and Janet Hiesler, of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Yarraman QLD
Remembered: Panel 123, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 16 March 1942 Hampden AD988 took off from RAF Cottesmore with the Officer Commanding “A” Flight at the controls to carry out a training flight. The aircraft crashed at 1715 hours at Thistleton, 7 miles north north east from Oakham. Eyewitnesses said that the aircraft dived into the ground from a height of 400 feet. All the crew members were killed.
The crew members of AD988 were:
Sergeant Derek Owen Leach Dold (778571) (RAFVR) (Observer)
Sergeant Francis James Hiesler (404402) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Squadron Leader Norman Stanley Royle DFC (79535) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Sergeant James Alexander Stevenson (405028) (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, 163/122/99