LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Alfred Hector McFARLANE
Service No: 10809
Born: Yarragon VIC, 20 January 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 2 July 1940
Unit: No. 9 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 9 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit Beaufighter aircraft JM221), Irish Sea, 16 August 1943, Aged 26 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Malcolm Murdoch McFarlane and Emily Eveline Elizabeth McFarlane, of Footscray, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Warragul VIC
Remembered: Panel 193, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 126, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 16 August 1943 Beaufighter JM221 took off in company with a number of other aircraft to carry out a night navigational exercise over the northern portion of the Irish Sea. The route was from Crosby-on-Eden, Cumberland, to Point of Ayr – Isle of Man- and return to Crosby-on-Eden. JM221 failed to return to base. Searches failed to find any trace of the missing aircraft or crew. It was later recorded that the missing crew had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of JM221 were:
Flight Sergeant Albert Hector McFarlane (10809) (Pilot)
Sergeant Cyril McGinnity (1509567) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
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, 166/26/211