LEST WE FORGET

Flight Lieutenant Theodore William John SPEET

Service No: 412206
Born: Garoet, Java, 8 May 1913
Enlisted in the RAAF: 22 June 1941 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 1 Squadron, Gould NT
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 1 Squadron Beaufort aircraft A9-593), near Gould, 16 September 1944, Aged 31 Years
Buried: Adelaide River War Cemetery, NT
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Peter Marie Anthony Speet and Cornelia Maria Speet, of Orange, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 97, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

Beaufort A9-593 took off from Gould airstrip, Northern Territory, on 16 September 1944 to carry out an operational convoy patrol. The aircraft crashed at approximately 0454 hours just after take off. The take off appeared normal but the aircraft crashed and burst into flames three quarters of a mile from the south east end of the strip. It was considered that the crash was probably caused by pilot error or through engine trouble, making an attempted forced landing necessary.

The crew members of A9-593 were:

Warrant Officer Robert Brough (414621) (Wireless Operator Air) Injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 29 March 1946
Warrant Officer Evan Frederick Klemm (414241) (Wireless Operator Air) Injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 17 October 1945
Flight Lieutenant Theodore William John Speet (412206) (Pilot)
Flying Officer Eric William Hadley Wood (417985) (Navigator Bomb Aimer) Injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 30 June 1945

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, 166/38/690

Bibliography:

Ilbery, P.L.T. (Peter Leslie Thomas) (422957) Hatching an Air Force: 2SFTS, 5SFTS, 1BFTS Uranquinty and Wagga Wagga, Banner Books Maryborough QLD 4650, 2002

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