LEST WE FORGET

Flying Officer Reginald Herbert PASSANT

Service No: 421619
Born: Campsie NSW, 10 November 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 28 February 1942
Unit: No. 61 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Skellingthorpe
Died: Air Operations: (No. 61 Squadron Lancaster aircraft R5856), France, 8 July 1944, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Marissel French National Cemetery, Oise, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Vincent and Rosaline Passant, of Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia; husband of Janet Forbes Passant, of Captains Flat, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 128, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

At 2207 hours on the night of 7 July 1944 Lancaster R5856 took off from Skellingthorpe detailed to bomb a flying bomb storage site at St Leu d’Esserent, France. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. A Missing Research and Enquiry team report stated “the aircraft was hit by flak and exploded in the air. It crashed near the village of Mouy, approximately 12 miles south of Beauvais, France.” All the crew members had been killed.

The crew members of R5856 were:

Flight Sergeant Andrew McWilliams Frew (1132241) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Cyril Howard (1896784) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Sergeant Terence Edward Hunt (1891862) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant George Edward Nash (419449) (Wireless Operator Air)
Flying Officer Reginald Herbert Passant (421619) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant William Smith (1504052) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Peter George Uren (778979) (RAFVR) (Navigator)

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, 166/32/435

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