LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Ronald Arthur Lloyd REID
Service No: 422296
Born: Willoughby NSW, 21 May 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 26 April 1942
Unit: No. 8 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 8 Squadron Wellington aircraft HZ703), Gulf of Aden, 28 June 1944, Aged 26 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James Leslie and Florence Maud M. Reid, of Asquith, New South Wales. Australia
Roll of Honour: Asquith NSW
Remembered: Panel 282, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 129, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2230 hours at night on 27 June 1944 Wellington HZ703 took off on a convoy escort patrol in the vicinity of the Gulf of Aden. At 0205 hours on 28 June, SS Highland Prince reported that a twin engine aircraft had crashed in the sea, caught fire and exploded. The reported position was 12.20N, 044.03E. The ship and the Navy searched for two hours but no trace of any survivors was found. It was established that no other aircraft apart from HZ703 was in the vicinity at the time. It was later concluded that the missing crew had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of HZ703 were:
Flying Officer Horace Henry George Davis (144943) (RAFVR) (Second Pilot)
Flying Officer Gordon William Ferguson (J/23306) (RCAF) (Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant Eric Rosser Moseley (123142) (RAFVR) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flight Sergeant Ronald Arthur Lloyd Reid (422296) (Wireless Operator Air) (ASVG)
Flight Sergeant Cornelius Dominick Ryalls (425551) (Wireless Operator Air) (ASVG)
Flight Sergeant George Maxwell Walker (418486) (Wireless Operator Air) (ASVG)
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, 166/35/301