LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Desmond Laurance LILYA
Service No: NX48987 (Australian Army)
Born: Te Awamuta New Zealand, 8 October 1922
Enlisted in the Army: 9 October 1941 (at Paddington NSW)
Unit: ‘Z’ Special Unit
Died: Air Operations: (No. 200 Flight Liberator aircraft A72-159) Timor, 17 May 1945, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Ambon War Cemetery, Indonesia
CWGC Additional Information: Foster-son of Mrs. E. I. Borland, of Heathcote, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Sutherland NSW
Remembered: Panel 11, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Honour Avenues, Kings Park WA
Liberator A72-159 went missing on a reconnaissance for Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) Operation Sunbaker over Timor on 17 May 1945. The wreckage of the aircraft was reported located near Vila General Caroma (08.43S 125.33E) in October 1945. The wreckage was completely burned out and very few identifiable items remained. Witness reports from local inhabitants indicated that the aircraft may have been experiencing some form of engine problem.
The crew members of A72-159 and members of Z Special Unit on board were:
Staff Sergeant Kenway Herbert Bell (NX115263) (Z Special Unit)
Flying Officer Tom Tate Biltoft (404525) (Second Pilot)
Flying Officer Lionel James Brown (413536) (Air Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant Henry Rupert Campbell (411860) (Navigator)
Flying Officer Archibald McLaren Clark DFM (402309) (Pilot)
Flying Officer Herbert James Clark DFM (413153) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Clarence Augustine Reginald Gamble (439646) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Herbert Archibald John Jones (411222) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Desmond Laurence Lilya (NX48987) (Z Special Unit)
Flying Officer Colin Montague Manning (409282) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Kenneth Murray Marshall (SX18561) (Z Special Unit)
Corporal James Anthony Nicol (WX16796) (Z Special Unit)
Flight Lieutenant John William Rice (412186) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Harry Riley (14457) (Flight Engineer)
Lieutenant Alan Francis Wilkins (VX61840) (Z Special Unit)
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 B883, NX48987
Bibliography:
Courtney, Godfrey Basil MBE MC Silent Feet: the history of ‘Z’ Special Operations, RJ & SP Austin, McCrae VIC 3938, 1993
Nelmes, M.V. (Michael) Tocumwal to Tarakan: Australians and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Banner Books Belconnen ACT 2616, 1994
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Boston, Mitchell and Liberator in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1992