LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Arthur Wallace POYZER DFM
Service No: 404468
Born: Elliston SA, 30 June 1914
Enlisted in the RAAF: 13 September 1940 (at Brisbane QLD)
Unit: No. 83 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Coningsby
Awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM), 6 June 1944
Died: Air Operations: Operation Overlord (No. 83 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ND467), France, 7 June 1944, Aged 29 Years
Buried: Banneville la Campagne War Cemetery, Calvados, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Arthur and Edith Annie Poyzer, of Kimber, South Australia
Roll of Honour: Adelaide SA
Remembered: Panel 129, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
DFM Citation: “This NCO has completed a total of 58 operational sorties against the enemy, 13 of which have been with the Pathfinder Force. In addition to operating in the Middle East, Flight Sergeant Poyzer has also operated against the majority of the enemy’s major targets in Europe. Throughout these operations, he has displayed a high standard of courage in the face of the heaviest enemy opposition. His skill and ability as a gunner and his untiring vigilance in the air are worthy of the highest praise and he has set an excellent example for others to follow. He is strongly recommended for the non-immediate award of the DFM.” Dated 20 May 1944 (awarded 6 June 1944)
At 0050 hours on the morning of 7 June 1944 Lancaster ND467 took off from Coningsby detailed to bomb communications at Caen, France. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft crashed in the target area and six of the crew members were killed and one was taken prisoner but escaped.
The crew members of ND467 were:
Flight Sergeant Constantine George (418384) (Rear Gunner) PoW, Escaped, Discharged from the RAAF: 23 May 1945
Flying Officer George Mervyn Kennedy (415328) (RNZAF) (Pilot)
Warrant Officer Peter John Lynes DFM (1262223) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Arthur Wallace Poyzer DFM (404468) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Pilot Officer Oswald John Turner (176475) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
First Lieutenant C J Van Horn (US Army Air Force) (Navigator)
Sergeant Norman George Whitley (1803326) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant George later reported “I was the first to bale out and I do not think the others had time to escape before the crash.”
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, 166/33/177
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line