LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer Ian Samuel McLENNAN
Service No: 401527
Born: Marnoo VIC, 14 November 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 28 February 1941
Unit: No. 104 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 104 Squadron Wellington aircraft W5447), off the Tunisian Coast, 13 April 1943, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Donald Neil and Barbara Elizabeth McLennan, of Marnoo, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Marnoo VIC
Remembered: Column 277, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 126, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1814 hours on 12 April 1943 Wellington W5447 took off to attack Manzel Teminni which is approximately 25 miles south of Cape Bon, Tunisia. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it did not return to base. In 1949, following enquiries and investigations, it was concluded that the missing crew members had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of W5447 were:
Sergeant Leslie Ronald Akehurst (1290993) (RAFVR) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Sergeant Frederick Vincent Bayford (916170) (RAFVR) (Front Gunner)
Sergeant William John Drayton (902553) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Ernest Arthur Higham (1378583) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator)
Sergeant Felix Herbert McConville (1098034) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Pilot Officer Ian Samuel McLennan (401527) (Pilot)
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, 163/141/683