LEST WE FORGET

Flight Lieutenant Grahame Patrick LOBWEIN AFC

Service No: 404723
Born: Toowoomba QLD, 24 September 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 8 November 1940
Unit: No. 33 Squadron
Awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC), 13 October 1944 (Citation Title: No. 6 Communication Unit)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 33 Squadron Dakota aircraft A65-54 (VH-CUP)), New Britain, 15 November 1945, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, PNG
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Francis Joseph and Catherine Eve Lobwein; husband of Joyce Louise Lobwein, of Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Toowoomba QLD
Remembered: Panel 103, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

On a flight from Jacquinot to Rabaul on 15 November 1945, Dakota A65-54 crashed into the jungle in New Britain at about 0920 hours at position 05.12S 151.52E and all 27 people on board were killed. The aircraft impacted about 150 feet below the crest of a 7,000 mountain in dense jungle and it took rescue parties several days to reach the scene. On board A65-54 were:

Crew

Flight Sergeant Douglas Albert Bruderlin (444773) (Wireless Operator)
Flight Lieutenant Ronald Alexander Hanrahan (423723) (Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant Grahame Patrick Lobwein AFC (404723) (Co-Pilot)

Passengers

Sepoy Abdullah Jan (9508) (Indian Army) (14th Punjab Regiment)
Lieutenant Leonard Henry Beard (V196067) (8 Movement Control Group)
Leading Aircraftman Norman Harold Blake (431713) (112 Mobile Fighter Control Unit)
Leading Aircraftman Stanley William Bridge (69362) (No. 313 Radar Station)
Seaman David Thomas Bristow (PM8156) (RAN) (HMAS Bangalow)
Sepoy Chain Singh (17649) (Indian Army) (12th Frontier Force Regiment)
Major Laurence Balerno Cunningham (SX25194) (5 Base Sub Area AEME)
Leading Aircraftman Hugh Cushing (419913) (No. 112 Mobile Fighter Control Unit)
Sepoy Dina Nath (7381) (Indian Army) (17th Dogra Regiment)
Private Ronald Arthur Evans (VX78437) (10 Field Bakery Platoon AASC)
Lieutenant William Reaburn Grieve (VX135784) (18 Advanced Ordnance Depot)
Sepoy Gustasab Khan (17600) (Indian Army) (14th Punjab Regiment)
Naik Hamir Singh (11928) (Indian Army) (12th Frontier Force Regiment)
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Dennis Hannon (SX11016) (1 Australian Army Dental Corps)
Lieutenant John Lisle Honey (RAN) (HDML 1354)
Sepoy Lakhu Ram (12148) (Indian Army) (12th Frontier Force Regiment)
Warrant Officer II Clive Frederick Martin MID (NX157274) (1 New Guinea Infantry Battalion)
Leading Aircraftman Maurice James Mills (137163) (No. 311 Radar Station)
Sepoy Muzaffar Ali (6786) (Indian Army) (14th Punjab Regiment)
Havildar Munshi (4406) (Indian Army) (17th Dogra Regiment)
Major Lionel Charles Saunders MID (VX20272) (HQ 1 Australian Army)
Sister Verdun Bernice Sheah (501253) (RAAF Nursing Service) (No. 1 Medical Evacuation Unit)
Sepoy Shiv Singh (18182) (Indian Army) (1st Punjab Regiment)
Lance Naik Sikandar Khan (12053) (Indian Army) (12th Frontier Force Regiment)

The Indian Soldiers were former Prisoners of War being taken to Rabaul to appear as witnesses in Japanese War Crimes Trials.

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, 117; A705, 166/25/388

Bibliography:

Wilson, S. (Stewart) Dakota, Hercules and Caribou in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990

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