LEST WE FORGET
Aircraftman Class II Ronald Thomas STENHOUSE
Service No: 418887
Born: Northcote VIC, 19 January 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 19 June 1942
Unit: No. 1 Initial Training School, Somers VIC
Died: Injuries from a Ground Accident, Heidelberg VIC, 10 July 1942, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Fawkner Park Memorial Cemetery, Melbourne VIC
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Thomas Henry and Edith May Stenhouse, of Northcote; husband of Winifred Florence Stenhouse, of Hawthorn
Roll of Honour: Northcote VIC
Remembered: Panel 117, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 6 July 1942, Sergeant Callaghan, a Physical Training Instructor, was instructing a class of airmen in tumbling and springboard work in the gymnasium. They had all been shown how to jump and land and had done this correctly several times. They were next shown how to land on their feet and do a forward roll. About twenty of the class did this exercise with no trouble. Aircraftman Class II Stenhouse, an Aircrew trainee, took off correctly, but appeared to lose his balance in mid-air and landed on his head instead of his feet. He was immediately taken to Station Sick quarters and later that day admitted to No. 115 Australian General Hospital, Heidelberg, suffering from a fractured spine and he died on 10 July 1942.
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, 163/163/418