LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Rae Latham MORRIS
Service No: 422652
Born: Artarmon NSW, 10 February 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 22 May 1942
Unit: No. 467 Squadron, RAF Station Waddington, Lincolnshire
Died: Air Operations: (No. 467 Squadron Lancaster aircraft NF989), North Sea, 23 October 1944, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frank Ernest and Anne Muriel Morris, of Manly, New South Wales, Australia. Incorporated Accountant
Roll of Honour: Manly NSW
Remembered: Panel 259, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 111, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Manly ANZAC War Memorial, Manly NSW
The Flushing batteries were attacked again (1) on 21st October by No. 3 Group, and by No. 5 Group on the 23rd, when in the face of bad weather and apparently reinforced anti-aircraft defences, the RAAF squadrons lost three aircraft, had five more badly damaged, and considered that many of their bombs had overshot the target.
(1) The previous attack was on 11 October 1944.
Extract from Herington, J. (John) (406545) Air War Over Europe 1944-1945, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1963 – Page 314-5
Lancaster NF989 took off from RAF Waddington at 1442 hours on 23 October 1944 to bomb batteries near port of Flushing (Vlissingen) Netherlands. The bomb load was 14 x 1000 lb (pound) (450 kg) bombs. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base. Twenty one aircraft from the Squadron took part in the raid and one of these NF989 failed to return. No trace of the missing aircraft or crew members was found.
The crew members of NF989 were:
Warrant Officer Rae Latham Morris (422652) (Navigator)
Sergeant Alexander James Franks Halls (1286551) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant James Hodge (1826605) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Edward Berkley Rowell (422714) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Arthur Sidney Smith (425905) (Wireless Operator Air)
Flight Sergeant Desmond John Taylor (424894) (Bomb Aimer)
Sergeant Alexander Thomson (1347841) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
No. 463 Squadron lost Lancaster NF977 (Flying Officer Cyril Borsht (426416) (Pilot)) on 23 October 1944.
No. 463 Squadron lost Lancaster PD620 (Flight Sergeant Robert Coward (432371) (Air Gunner)) on 23 October 1944.
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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/28/428
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line