LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer Thomas Edmund Bede KYLE
Service No: 420015
Born: Harwood island NSW, 29 September 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 October 1941
Unit: No. 7 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Oakington
Died: Air Operations: (No. 7 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ND457), Germany, 24 March 1944, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Hamburg War Cemetery, Hamburg, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Brother of William E. Kyle, of Stanmore, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Ashfield NSW
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1845 hours on the night of 24 March 1944 Lancaster ND457 took off from Oakington to bomb Berlin. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. Post war it was established that the aircraft crashed at Warder some 17kms south east of Rendsburg. Five of the crew members had been killed and two were Prisoners of War.
The crew members of ND457 were:
Sergeant Charles Butson (1310755) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Sergeant Francis Henry Fowler (1850079) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant R A Hide (1392048) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner) PoW
Flight Sergeant C Hughes (422711) (RNZAF) (Rear Gunner) PoW
Flying Officer Douglas George William Humphreys (144604) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Pilot Officer Thomas Edmund Bede Kyle (420015) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer John Hugh Douglas MacDonnell (422633) (Bomb Aimer)
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, 166/23/44