LEST WE FORGET
Flight Lieutenant Arthur Franklin SAYER
Service No: 19135
Born: Bendigo VIC, 4 September 1913
Enlisted in the RAAF: 17 July 1940
Unit: No. 22 Squadron
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 22 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft A8-170), Morotai, 9 July 1945, Aged 31 Years
Buried: Ambon War Cemetery, Indonesia
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Percival James Sayer and Jeanette Sayer, of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia; husband of Rhoda Margaret Sayer, of Longford, Tasmania.
Roll of Honour: Bendigo VIC
Remembered: Panel 101, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 9 July 1945, Beaufighter A8-170 was landing from a non-operational gunnery practice flight at the Wama airstrip at Morotai. Attempting to recover from a bad landing, the aircraft swung and struck some trees while trying to carry out a further circuit. Both crew members were killed.
The crew members of A8-170 were:
Flight Sergeant John Mynderse Keys Forsayth (66101) (Navigator)
Flight Lieutenant Arthur Franklin Sayer (19135) (Pilot)
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, 166/37/1147; A9845, 57