LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Ralph Reginald JAMES MID
Service No: 408811
Born: Shepparton VIC, 13 April 1912
Enlisted in the RAAF: 23 May 1941
Unit: No. 2 Squadron, Darwin NT
Awarded the Mentioned in Despatches (MID)
Died: Air Operations (No. 2 Squadron Hudson aircraft A16-241), Arafura Sea, 28 April 1943, Aged 31 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Sandry James and Ethel May James; husband of Beryl Isobel James, of Yungaburra, Queensland, Australia.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Column 8, Ambon Memorial, Indonesia
Remembered: Panel 98, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 28April 1943, Hudson A16-241 was detailed to carry out an armed reconnaissance from Milingimbi, Northern Territory to the Aroe Islands, with a secondary object of searching for a missing Beaufighter. The aircraft took off at 1000 hours and 30 minutes later a signal was received “one engine gone”, about 9 minutes later advised that it was about 30 minutes flying time from Milingimbi. The aircraft failed to return to base. Searches by five aircraft failed to find any trace of the missing aircraft or crew members.
The crew members of A16-24 were:
Warrant Officer Harry Edgar Cutten (3403) (Fitter Armourer)
Flying Officer Ralph Reginald James MID (408811) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Kenneth Gordon Keech (8966) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Roy Edward Norris (414157) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Patrick Stanislaus Reen MID (412185) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Ronald Drinkwater Ryan (404989) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9845, 138
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Anson, Hudson and Sunderland in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1992