LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Hugh Joseph KILDAY
Service No: 410067
Born: Yarragon VIC, 19 June 1913
Enlisted in the RAAF: 8 November 1941
Unit: No. 196 Squadron (RAF), RAF Shepherd’s Grove, Suffolk
Died: Aircraft Accident: (No. 196 Squadron Stirling aircraft LK147), Norway, 10 May 1945, Aged 31 Years
Buried: Oslo Western Civil Cemetery, Norway
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Laurence and Margaret Kilday, of Yarragon, Victoria, Australia.
Roll of Honour: Yarragon VIC
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Though LK147 was lost as the result of an accident, it was conducting an operational mission to take British troops to Norway to take control from the German forces who had surrendered two days previously. Flying Officer Breed and Warrant Officer Kilday may be considered to be last RAAF members to be killed on air operations in the European Theatre.
Stirling LK147 took off from RAF Shepherds Grove on the 10 May 1945, detailed to carry airborne troops to Norway. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft crashed near Gerdemhen, Norway, and all were killed. At the time of the crash the weather was bad.
The crew members of LK147 were:
Flight Sergeant Harold Alfred Bell (1061632) (RAFVR)
Flying Officer John Leonard Breed (415610) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Lionel James Douglas Gilyead (1677499) (RAFVR)
Warrant Officer Raymond Charles Impett (1585357) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Warrant Officer Hugh Joseph Kilday (410067) (Air Bomber)
Flight Sergeant David Welch (1246505) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
The names of the British soldiers being carried are not shown on the Casualty Signal. As the CWGC record shows 30 British Solders having being killed in Norway on 10 May 1945, it is not possible to determine who of these also lost their lives on LK147.
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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/22/505
Bibliography:
Holmes, Steve with Ken Scott Sherlock’s Squadron: The Incredible true story of the unsung RAF heroes of World War II, John Blake Publishing, London UK, 2013