LEST WE FORGET
Aircraftman Class I Chelsea Gordon HILTON
Service No: 41847
Born: Port Fairy VIC, 2 February 1911
Enlisted in the RAAF: 16 July 1941
Unit: Headquarters, RAAF Station Darwin NT
Died: Ground Accident, Darwin, 8 April 1942, Aged 31 Years
Buried: Adelaide River War Cemetery, NT
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Frederick and Grace Hilton; husband of Isabella Ethel Hilton, of St. Kilda, Victoria
Roll of Honour: St Kilda VIC
Remembered: Panel 97, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 8 April 1942, Aircraftman Class I Hilton, a Guard, was accidentally shot in the shoulder when on duty at No. 6 Gun Post on the aerodrome at RAAF Station Darwin. He was sitting on a box near his gun post with his rifle leaning on a tree beside him. He evidently dragged the rifle towards him and a piece of undergrowth caught in the trigger guard and discharged the rifle. The bullet entered his shoulder and he was taken to Fortress Hospital, Darwin, where he died later that day.
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, 163/122/105