LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant William Frederick NETHERSOLE
Service No: 425541
Born: Esk QLD, 1 June 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 28 March 1942
Unit: No. 115 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Little Snoring
Died: Air Operations: (No. 115 Squadron Lancaster aircraft DS699), Germany, 9 October 1943, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Hanover War Cemetery
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Fredrick and Ethel May Nethersole, of Dayboro, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Dayboro QLD
Remembered: Panel 127, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2340 hours on the night of 8 October 1943 Lancaster DS 699 took off from Little Snoring detailed to bomb Hanover, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. A Missing Research and Enquiry team reported “at 11.30pm on the night of 8/9th October 1943, a large aircraft appeared over the village of Fuhrberg. It lost height gradually and then dived to the ground 2 kms south of the village.” DS699 crashed at 0123 hours, south of Fuhrberg, 22 kms north north east of Hanover. Two crew members were killed and the other five taken prisoner.
The crew members of DS699 were:
Pilot Officer W S C Blewett (J/22401) (RCAF) (Navigator) PoW
Flying Officer A S Cade (117001) (RAFVR) (Pilot) PoW
Sergeant D E Davis (1192416) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner) PoW
Sergeant W T Mitchell (1542209) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer) PoW
Flight Sergeant William Frederick Nethersole (425541) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Pilot Officer W Pryde (J/20889) (RCAF) (Air Bomber) PoW
Flight Sergeant Herbert John Willis DFM (1434099) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Pilot Officer Pryde later reported “the aircraft was attacked by fighters near Hanover and Flight Sergeant Nethersole was killed during the attack. Flight Sergeant Willis was found dead in the wreckage of the aircraft.”
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, 166/29/58