LEST WE FORGET

Sergeant Fletcher McKENDRICK

Service No: 403201
Born: Bondi NSW, 4 December 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 December 1940
Unit: No. 500 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 500 Squadron Hudson aircraft AM689), Western Mediterranean, 27 December 1942, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Tom Reid McKendrick and Annie McKendrick, of Bondi, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 5, Column 2, Malta Memorial, Malta
Remembered: Panel 126, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Waverley Soldier’s Memorial 1914 – 1918, Bondi NSW

At 0900 hours on 27 December 1942 Hudson AM689 took off to carry out an anti-submarine patrol. Its time for return to base was 1530 hours. When the aircraft became overdue aircraft searches were conducted for several days but no trace of the missing aircraft or crew members was found. In 1948 it was recorded that the missing crew members had lost their lives at sea.

The crew members of AM689 were:

Sergeant Fletcher McKendrick (403201) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Sergeant Ronald Thomas Southcott (932503) (RAFVR)
Flight Lieutenant Desmond Victor Varian (89330) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Sergeant Edgar Walker (1262359) (RAFVR)

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, 166/26/1
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line

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