LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Robert Bruce MORRISON
Service No: 421366
Born: Manly NSW, 7 November 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 1 February 1942
Unit: No. 53 Operational Training Unit (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 53 Operational Training Unit Spitfire aircraft P8238), Yorkshire, 5 May 1944, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Yorkshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Robert Leslie and Henriette Snowden Morrison, of Mosman, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Mittagong NSW
Remembered: Panel 127, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Mittagong and District War Memorial, Mittagong NSW
On 5 May 1944, Spitfire P8238 flown by Flight Sergeant Morrison took off at 1040 hours to carry out a non-operational low level cross country flight maintaining a height along the route of 200 feet above ground level. The aircraft crashed after striking a tree near Skirlaugh, about 5 miles north north east of Hull. After take off the Pilot made radio contact with Sector operations and informed them of what exercise he was going on and no further radio communication was made. Just before 1235 hours a witness saw an aircraft approaching at a fairly high speed at about 50 feet above the ground. The aircraft hit a tree 25 feet above the ground, it cart wheeled and crashed and burst into flames. A Flying accident report stated: “the Primary cause for the accident was bad airmanship on the part of the Pilot. A contributory cause was slightly bumpy conditions in which the aircraft might have lost some height.”
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, 166/28/293
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line