LEST WE FORGET

Pilot Officer Ian Ronald ROBERTSON

Service No: 404657
Born: Brisbane QLD, 10 December 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 October 1940
Unit: No. 61 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Syerston
Died: Air Operations: (No. 61 Squadron Lancaster aircraft W4989), off Denmark, 28 April 1943, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Copenhagen (Bispebjerg) Cemetery, Denmark
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Sydney and Emily Gertrude Robertson, of Greenslopes, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 129, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

At 2036 hours on the night of 28 April 1943 Lancaster W4989 took off from Syerston for mine-laying operations in the Verbena area. Nothing further was heard from the aircraft or crew after take-off. Pilots of other aircraft on similar missions reported a straight forward trip with occasional anti-aircraft fire. Patches of dirty weather were encountered. Two bodies were later washed ashore and it was assumed that the other five crew members were lost at sea.

The crew members of W4989 were:

Sergeant Arthur William Bond (1031892) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Warrant Officer Michael De Beauchamp Collenette (742200) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Nathaniel Robert Gyles (401236) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Reginald Donovan Mix (J/17075) (RCAF) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Franklin Guy Moore (R/119531) (RCAF) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Jack Norman (541519) (RAF) (Flight Engineer)
Pilot Officer Ian Ronald Robertson (404657) (Navigator)

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 A9300, ROBERTSON I R

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