LEST WE FORGET
Flight Lieutenant Kenneth George SHEA
Service No: 408707
Born: Launceston TAS, 18 February 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 22 May 1941 (at Melbourne VIC)
Unit: No. 231 Squadron (RAF), Dorval, Quebec, Canada
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 231 Squadron (RAF) Liberator aircraft AL504), off the Azores, 27 March 1945, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George and Lelia Florence Shea; husband of Alma Clarice Shea, of North Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Essendon VIC
Remembered: Panel 282, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Liberator AL 504 departed RAF Station Northolt at 2300Z hours on 26 March 1945 for Ottawa, Canada, via Lagens, Azores, on special flight carrying VIPs. The ETA at Lagens was 0810Z hours on 27 March. The last contact with AL 504 was by Prestwick was at 0716Z hours on 27 March. The aircraft was reported overdue at Lagens and an air/sea search instituted. Dinghies, wreckage and an oil patch were seen in position 40.30N 020.17W (in the Atlantic Ocean about 350 km north east of the Azores), but no trace of crew or passengers was found.
The crew members of AL504 were:
Mr Victor Ian Claude James Bannister (UK Civilian, Steward)
Wing Commander William Hugh Biddell OBE DFC (37376) (RAF) (Pilot and Aircraft Captain)
Flying Officer Aubrey Norman Brodie (170642) (RAFVR) (Co-Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant David Buchanan (J/11854) (RCAF) (Co-Navigator)
Flight Lieutenant Kenneth George Shea (408707) (Co-Navigator)
Pilot Officer Douglas James Spence (C/52864) (RCAF) (Flight Engineer)
Mr. Frederick Walter Williams (UK Civilian, Radio Officer)
Passengers
Sir John Abraham (UK Civilian, Air Ministry)
Commander Rupert Arnold Brabner DSO DSC (RNVR) MP (Under Secretary of State for Air)
Air Marshal Sir Peter Roy Maxwell Drummond KCB DSO & Bar CBE MC (RAF) (Air Member for Training)
Mr H A Jones (UK Civilian, Air Ministry)
Squadron Leader Elisha Gaddis Plum (79965) (RAFVR) (Air Ministry)
Mr E Robinson (UK Civilian, Private Secretary to the Under Secretary of State for Air)
Mr E Twentyman (UK Civilian, Ministry of Food)
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, 166/37/1002
Bibliography:
Christie, C.A. (Carl Andrew) Ocean Bridge: The History of RAF Ferry Command, University of Toronto Press Toronto Canada, 1995