LEST WE FORGET

Sergeant Robert Joseph Prior RICKETTS

Service No: 420057
Born: Balmain NSW, 14 August 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 October 1941
Unit: No. 58 Operational Training Unit (RAF), RAF Station Grangemouth
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 58 Operational Training Unit Spitfire aircraft X4241), Stirlingshire, 10 June 1943, Aged 19 Years
Buried: Grangemouth (Grandsable) Cemetery, Stirlingshire, Scotland
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frederick Ernest and Florence Ricketts, of Mascot, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 129, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

At 1520 hours on 10 June 1943, Spitfire X4241 took off from Grangemouth detailed to carry out a cross country flight. The weather must have deteriorated for at 1607 hours a radio transmission from the Pilot asked for a course to steer home. The aircraft was then at 9,000 feet. This was probably above cloud and out of sight of land. The Pilot was given a course to steer and at 1610 hours he reported he was steering the course and at 8,000 feet. The aircraft must have started losing height because at 1614 hours he reported he was flying in cloud at 3,000 feet, and was told not to go below that height as the hills were 2300 feet high. However his radio went off and at 1617 hours the aircraft hit the ground. The aircraft was found 200 feet below about 400 yards from the summit of a hill about 4 miles north of Alloa in Stirlingshire and only about 12 miles from the aerodrome and Sergeant Ricketts had been killed in 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, 166/35/79

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