LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Maxwell George PARKER
Service No: 416227
Born: Glenelg SA, 12 May 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 24 April 1941
Unit: No. 458 Squadron, Protville Tunisia
Died: Air Operations: The Invasion of Italy (No. 458 Squadron Wellington aircraft HP762), Corsica, 12 September 1943, Aged 25 years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Alfred George and Kathleen Parker, of Somerton, South Australia.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 11, Column 1, Malta Memorial, Malta
Remembered: Panel 106, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
Wellington HP762 took off from RAF Protville at 1924 hours on the night of 11/12th September 1943 to carry out a night recce of the east and west coast of Corsica and Sardinia. Four Wellingtons were detailed for patrols that night with instructions that no shipping was to be attacked due to the probability of Italian ships passing through the patrol areas en route to Allied ports.
At 0012 hours on 12/9 a message was received by base from HP 762 reporting a sighting of two unknowns in position 43.10N 09.41E and at 0017 hours another message stating contact was lost. Nothing further was heard from the aircraft and it did not return to base.
The crew members of HP762 were:
Sergeant Richard Edward Clark (1189409) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Warrant Officer Colin Kenneth Dickson (407414) (Pilot)
Sergeant James Stanley Hornsby (1019209) (RAFVR) (Special Equipment (Radar) Operator)
Sergeant Harry Milner (1069843) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator)
Flying Officer Maxwell George Parker (416227) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant Charles Robert Thurstun (406268) (Second 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, 166/32/183
Bibliography:
Alexander, P. (Peter) We Find and Destroy: history of No. 458 Squadron, The 458 Squadron Council, 1959