LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman Thomas Elliott Mays HODGE
Service No: 403052
Born: South Shields, England, 21 November 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 9 December 1940 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School, Mascot NSW
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School Tiger Moth aircraft A17-254), Lakes Golf Links, Sydney, 5 April 1941, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Cremated
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Thomas Elliott Hodge, D.S.C., R.N.R. and Ellen Hodge, of Snettisham, Norfolk, England
Roll of Honour: Snettisham, England
Remembered: Panel 5, NSW Cremation Memorial
Remembered: Panel 116, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 5 April 1941, Tiger Moth A17-254 collided in the air with A17-252 and crashed on the Lakes Golf Links, Sydney. The crew members in A17-254 were killed and A17-252 was recovered with extensive damage.
The crew members of A17-254 were:
Leading Aircraftman Thomas Elliott Mays Hodge (403052) (Trainee Pilot)
Pilot Officer Jack Holt (3514) (Instructor Pilot)
The crew members of A17-252 were:
Pilot Officer John Robert Cherry (291880) (Instructor Pilot) Uninjured, Discharged from the RAAF: 22 August 1945
Leading Aircraftman John Henry Stephen Pettett (403372) (Trainee Pilot) Uninjured, Discharged from the RAAF: 24 October 1945
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 A9845, 17; A705, 163/123/84