LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Leslie Donald SOUTHWOOD
Service No: 429292
Born: Turramurra NSW, 26 December 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 7 November 1942
Unit: No. 27 Operational Training Unit (RAF), RAF Station Lichfield
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 27 Operational Training Unit Wellington aircraft LP436), Staffordshire, 18 September 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Chester (Blacon) Cemetery, Cheshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Archer Edwin and Lalla Susannah Southwood, of Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Ku-ring-gai World War II Book of Remembrance, Gordon NSW
At 2240 hours on the 18 September 1944, Wellington LP436 took off from Lichfield detailed to carry out night bombing training. At 2320 hours, the aircraft dived from 6,000 feet, pulled up sharply and stalled into trees about four miles west of the airfield. All on board were killed.
The crew members of LP436 were:
Flying Officer Edward Cyril Buckland (430358) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant Dennis Fletcher (431920) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Douglas Ross McDonald (433234) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flying Officer John Mortimer Ruglen (430056) (Air Bomber)
Flight Sergeant Leslie Donald Southwood (429292) (Pilot)
The Squadron Leader Training Wing at Lichfield stated: “The cause of the accident is obscure, but the importance of frequent references to instruments during flights at night in a circuit has been pointed to student pilots.”
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, 166/38/699
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line