LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant John William Arthur MONTGOMERY
Service No: 424271
Born: London, England, 26 January 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 August 1942 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 640 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Leconfield
Died: Air Operations: (No. 640 Squadron Halifax aircraft MZ541), France, 3 June 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Epernon Communal Cemetery, Eure-et-Loir, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Norris Montgomery and Violet Moore Montgomery, of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Melbourne VIC
Remembered: Panel 127, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2223 hours on the night of the 2 June 1944, Halifax MZ541 took off from RAF detailed to bomb rail yards at Trappe, France. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was shot down by a night fighter and crashed at 0100 hours 1 km south east of Epernon (Eure-et-Loir). All the crew members were killed.
The crew members of MZ541 were:
Sergeant Vickers Lavender Bennett (1601205) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Geoffrey Hubert Stephen Burwood (172072) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant John Watson Eastman (1535785) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Sergeant Alec Friesner (2215315) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant John William Arthur Montgomery (424271) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Robert Morris (1892968) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Sergeant Francis Ronald Smith (1631398) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
The average age of the crew was 20 years.
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, 166/28/318