LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant David Alcorn McKELL
Service No: 400061
Born: Mosman NSW, 26 March 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 29 April 1940 (at Melbourne VIC)
Unit: No. 69 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 69 Squadron Maryland aircraft LB427), central Mediterranean, 24 November 1941, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Norman Alcorn McKell, and of Irene Annie McKell, of North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 2, Column 2, Malta Memorial, Malta
Remembered: Panel 126, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1304 hours on 24 November 1941 Maryland LB427 took off from Takali aerodrome, Malta, to carry out a sea patrol. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it did not return to base. It was recorded in 1948 that the missing crew members had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of LB427 were:
Flight Sergeant Harold Bernard Batchelor (759009) (RAFVR) (Observer)
Sergeant John Keogh Hutt (967922) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Sergeant David Alcorn McKell (400061) (Wireless Operator 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 Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/141/389