LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Vincent William James MANSELL
Service No: 407719
Born: Adelaide SA, 6 November 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 4 January 1941
Unit: No. 149 Squadron (RAF), RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk
Died: Air Operations (No. 149 Squadron Stirling aircraft N6084), Germany, 8 June 1942, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Henry and Mary Jane Mansell, of Prospect, South Australia
Roll of Honour: Prospect SA
Remembered: Panel 126, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
Stirling N6084 took off from Lakenheath on the night of 8/9th June 1942, detailed to bomb Essen, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft crashed at Hessel, 7 kms south east of Dorsten and all the crew members were killed.
The crew members of N6084 were:
Sergeant Eric Foster William Booth (636621) (RAF) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Howard Leslie Davis (1254786) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Flying Officer Vincent William James Mansell (407719) (Second Pilot)
Sergeant Norman Peake (617057) (RAF) (Flight Engineer)
Pilot Officer Elias Alexander Phillips (112015) (RAFVR) (Observer)
Sergeant Eric Ward (1261399) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Tom Whittle (1310638) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/44/148
Bibliography:
Gaston, Bruce DFC (406646), Harry Horner DFC OAM (406595), Raymond Storer (406666) (Editors), Aircrew for the Duration: of and by members of RAAF EATS Courses 10, 11, 12 & 13, Gaston Horner and Storer, Nedlands WA, 1990