LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer Frederick John NEWTON
Service No: 436058
Born: Chillagoe QLD, 3 February 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 2 November 1942 (at Perth WA)
Unit: No. 15 Squadron (RAF), RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 15 Squadron Lancaster aircraft HK773), Norfolk, 22 March 1945, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Cambridge City Cemetery, Cambridgeshire UK
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frederick Thomas Newton and Mary Emma Newton; husband of Millicent Newton, of Osborne Park, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Boulder WA
Remembered: Panel 128, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
Lancaster HK773 took off from RAF Mildenhall at 1055 hours on the 23 March 1945 to attack Bocholt by GH (blind bombing radar device) bombing methods. The aircraft was seen at approximately 1100 hours flying in a north-westerly direction at 150 feet with the port outer engine feathered and apparently on fire. The aircraft gradually lost height finally striking the ground in dense wood and the 4000 lb (pound) (1,800 kg) bomb on board exploded. The aircraft crashed in between Brandon and Munford, Norfolk, killed all seven crew members.
The crew members of HK773 were:
Sergeant Cecil Arthur Jeffery Church (1801646) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Sergeant Peter Cooley (1604557) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Sergeant George Arthur Cope (1893709) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air)
Sergeant William John Dee (1881358) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Thomas Edward Jenkins (2219122) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Sergeant Martin Frederick Matthews (1602108) (RAFVR) (Bomb Aimer)
Pilot Officer Frederick John Newton (436058) (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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/29/231