LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Clifford Wilson SERPELL
Service No: 410421
Born: Sassafras VIC, 6 November 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 6 December 1941
Unit: No. 215 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 215 Squadron Wellington aircraft LN330), Myanmar, 3 March 1944, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Alfred Henry and Elsie Emma Serpell; husband of Margaret Beth Serpell, of Mentone, Victoria, Australia. B.A. (Melbourne University)
Roll of Honour: Mornington VIC
Remembered: Column 443, Singapore Memorial, Singapore
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At night on 3 March 1944 Wellington LN330 took off to attack the target area at Zyatkwin Aerodrome, north of Rangoon. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it did not return to base. Following post war investigations and enquiries it was established that the aircraft had crashed near the village of Nabebin not far from the target. The aircraft exploded on impact and all the crew members were killed instantly. The Japanese buried the remains in a grave not far from the village, but after the lapse of time and the growth of forest vegetation in the tropical country, the grave could not be located. In 1954 it was recorded that the crew members had lost their lives and had no known graves.
The crew members of LN330 were:
Flying Officer William James Bailey (127788) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator)
Warrant Officer Walter Kenneth Kewish (414409) (Pilot)
Flying Officer James Douglas Clifford Hooey (J/20237) (RCAF) (Air Bomber)
Flying Officer Clifford Wilson Serpell (410421) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Sergeant Arthur Norman Welch (1873607) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
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, 166/37/338