LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Cecil Ernest RYALL
Service No: 421399
Born: Bondi NSW, 5 March 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 1 February 1942
Unit: No. 207 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 207 Squadron Lancaster aircraft DV361), Northamptonshire, 22 December 1943, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Oxford (Botley) Cemetery, Oxfordshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Ernest James Ryall and Muriel Frances Ryall, of Cremorne, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 129, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 22 December 1943 Lancaster DV361 took off on a non-operational flight and crashed at 1342 hours about 4 miles east of Kettering, Northamptonshire. The starboard engine caught fire and the aircraft was abandoned. Three of the crew members were killed and four were uninjured.
The crew members of DV361 were:
Sergeant G A Baker (700709) (RAFVR) (Pilot) Uninjured
Sergeant P W Groom (1814429) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer) Uninjured
Sergeant Thomas Gibson Higgins (1501767) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant L A Hinch (1337618) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber) Uninjured
Sergeant George Clark O’Neill (1822516) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Cecil Ernest Ryall (421399) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant R Welfare (1397598) (RAFVR) (Navigator) Uninjured
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, 166/36/164