LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman Charles Rainsby ROBERTS
Service No: 150128
Born: Aramac QLD, 10 March 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 5 July 1943
Unit: No. 83 Squadron
Died: Ground Accident, Gove NT, 16 May 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Adelaide River War Cemetery NT
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Charles Rainsby Roberts and Louisa Elizabeth Roberts, of Aramac, Queensland
Roll of Honour: Aramac QLD
Remembered: Panel 104, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At approximately 1800 hours on the 16 May 1944, Leading Aircraftman Roberts, a Guard, jumped from the back of a truck with the rifle in one hand and his blankets and ground sheet in the other. As he landed, he used the butt of the rifle to steady himself. As the butt hit the ground, the rifle discharged and the bullet entered the front of his right upper chest and he died almost instantly.
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, 166/36/269