LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Maxwell Kemp RUSSELL
Service No: 3670
Born: Ashfield NSW, 31 January 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 August 1938 (at RAAF Station Laverton VIC)
Unit: No. 24 Squadron
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 24 Squadron Wirraway aircraft A20-470), near Kelso QLD, 14 June 1942, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Townsville War Cemetery, Queensland
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Herbert and Violet Russell, of Sydney, New South Wales; husband of Isabel Jean Russell, of Earlwood, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Earlwood NSW
Remembered: Panel 102, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At about 1030 hours on the 7 June 1942, Wirraway A20-470 crashed on Kelso Field near Anthill Plains, Queensland. The aircraft had collided head-on with Wirraway A20-473 in practising aerial combat. Flight Sergeant Kemp was incapacitated or killed in the collision and did not bale out while the other three crew members parachuted to safety.
The crew members of A20-470 were:
Flying Officer Michael William Burrows (260702) (O35245) (Pilot) Baled out, Uninjured, Discharged from the RAAF: 16 February 1945
Flight Sergeant Maxwell Kemp Russell (3670) (Observer)
The crew members of A20-473 were:
Sergeant David Barnaby Davies (406924) (Pilot) Baled out, Uninjured, Discharged from the RAAF: 29 January 1946
Flight Sergeant Robert William Nimmo Orr (Wireless Air Gunner) (5800) (A31406) Baled out, Uninjured, Discharged from the RAAF: 25 October 1960
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/159/79