LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Thomas Harold PAYNE
Service No: 413418
Born: Newcastle NSW, 7 July 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 17 August 1941
Unit: No. 295 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Hurn
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 295 Squadron Whitley aircraft LA856), near Bournemouth, 24 July 1943, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Christchurch Cemetery, Hampshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Jonathan Harold Alexander and Lydia Frances Payne, of Croydon, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Croydon NSW
Remembered: Panel 128, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1247 hours on 24 July 1943, Whitley LA856 crashed two miles north of Bournemouth. Dual instruction was being given on the aircraft type, when the port engine failed after take-off. It was believed that the crash was due to a glycol leak and the three crew members were killed.
The crew members of LA856 were:
Flight Sergeant Geoffrey Maurice Connell (420377) (Air Gunner)
Squadron Leader John Noel Wilmot Kerr (43101) (RAF) (Instructor Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Thomas Harold Payne (413418) (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 Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/32/155