LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Eric Raymond RICHARDSON
Service No: 22750
Born: Toowoomba QLD, 6 July 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 21 June 1940
Unit: No. 30 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 30 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft A19-49), off Lae PNG, 27 October 1942, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George H. Richardson and Margaret Richardson; husband of Morn Odette Richardson, of Waverley, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 7, Lae Memorial PNG
Remembered: Panel 102, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 27 October 1942, Beaufighter A19-49 was one of a formation of aircraft detailed to proceed against the enemy at Lae, Papua New Guinea. Having engaged the enemy in its land position, the formation flew low over the sea to return to the attack. In doing so, it was seen that A19-49 apparently struck the sea surface, rose sharply and crashed into the sea in flames. The aircraft had one engine on fire, and was finally seen in a submerged state, its dinghy adrift, but with no sign of the crew.
The crew members of A19-49 were:
Flight Lieutenant Edward Albert Jones (270808) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Eric Raymond Richardson (22750) (Wireless Air Observer)
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, 163/157/219; A9845, 13
Bibliography:
Parnell, N.M. (Neville M.) Whispering Death: A history of the RAAF’s Beaufighter Squadrons, AH & AW Reed, Terry Hills NSW, 1980
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990