LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Eric Alfred SMITH
Service No: 429268
Born: Surry Hills NSW, 28 September 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 5 November 1942
Unit: No. 619 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Strubby
Died: Air Operations: (No. 619 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ND975), France, 7 January 1945, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Villeneuve-St-Georges Old Communal Cemetery, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Alfred William and Amelia Elizabeth Smith, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Hurstville NSW
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the night of 7 January 1945, Lancaster ND975 took off from RAF Strubby detailed to bomb Munich, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off, and it failed to return to base. When homebound, the aircraft disintegrated over St-Pierre, France. All the crew members were killed.
The crew members of ND975 were:
Flying Officer Colin Kevin Flockhart (428679) (Pilot)
Sergeant Percival Stanley Graves (1621464) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant Robert Wilfred Keightley (1457806) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Thomas Luther Letchford (1812830) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Anthony Frederick Murdoch (1600419) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Sergeant Ronald Watkin Price (1652787) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant Eric Alfred Smith (429268) (Wireless 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, 166/38/859