LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman Leonard John KING
Service No: 3891
Born: Brisbane QLD, 12 June 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 3 January 1939 (at RAAF Station Laverton VIC)
Unit: No. 1 Flying Training School, RAAF Station Point Cook VIC
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 1 Flying Training School Anson aircraft N4887), near RAAF Station Richmond NSW, 18 December 1939, Aged 23 Years
Cremated: Mount Thompson Crematorium, Brisbane QLD
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William and Annie King, of Fairfield Outer
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 116, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At about 0119 hours on 18 December 1939, Anson N4887 took off and soon after ground crew heard a loud roar then the sound of a crash. The ground crew members ran to the area of the sounds and found the aircraft had disintegrated on impact. One engine had been driven deep into the earth. The crew members of N4887 had all been killed with remains and debris scattered over a wide area.
The crew members of N4887 were:
Flight Lieutenant Henry Parker Fitzgerald
Flight Lieutenant Hugh Vaughan Horner
Leading Aircraftman Leonard John King (3891)
Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Musgrave McInnes
Flight Lieutenant Arthur Moorehouse Watkins (Pilot)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9301, 3891; A9845, 67