LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer George Edwin LONGLAND
Service No: 426229
Born: Brisbane QLD, 14 October 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 23 May 1942
Unit: No. 455 Squadron, RAF Station Dallachy
Died: Air Operations: (No. 455 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft RD329), off the Norwegian Coast, 24 March 1945, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Egersund Church Cemetery, Norway
CWGC Additional Information: Son of David Frank and Bessie Norma Howard Longland, of Albion Heights, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 106, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Beaufighter RD329 took off from Dallachy at 1601 hours on 24 March 1945 to carry out a shipping strike on Egersund Harbour, Norway. Eight aircraft from the Squadron took part in the raid and one of these RD329 failed to return. RD329 was seen to crash south of a vessel during an attack on shipping and both the crew members were killed.
The crew members of RD329 were:
Warrant Officer George Edwin Longland (426229) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Errol Claude Nayda (419533) (Navigator Wireless)
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, 166/159/95
Bibliography:
Gordon, I. (Ian) Strike and Strike Again: 455 Squadron 1944-5, Banner Books Belconnen ACT 2616, 1995
Lawson, John Horwood Wightman (251634) The Story of No. 455 Squadron (RAAF), Wilke and Company, Melbourne VIC, 1951