LEST WE FORGET

Warrant Officer John Daglish STEVENSON

Service No: 422761
Born: Paddington NSW, 25 December 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 23 May 1942
Unit: No. 196 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Shepherd’s Grove
Died: Air Operations: (No. 196 Squadron Stirling aircraft LJ245), Norway, 25 February 1945, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Arendal Hogedal Cemetery, Norway
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James Gibson and Maud Victoria Stevenson, of Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Penrith NSW
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

On the night of 25 February 1945 Stirling LJ245 took off from Shepherds Grove detailed to drop panniers, boxes and six Special Air Services soldiers near Holen Lake, Norway. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was shot down in the target area with three crew members killed and three taken as Prisoners of War.

The crew members of LJ245 were:

Flying Officer John Henry Caldwell (423986) (Air Bomber) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 27 November 1945
Flight Sergeant George Alfred Humphrey (919841) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Warrant Officer Rolf William Mann (422649) (Navigator) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 29 October 1945
Pilot Officer Eric Sydney Quirk (423888) (Air Gunner) Evaded capture, Discharged from the RAAF: 8 October 1945
Warrant Officer John Daglish Stevenson (422761) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Russell George Tickner (420304) (Pilot)

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, 166/38/951

Bibliography:

Holmes, Steve with Ken Scott Sherlock’s Squadron: The Incredible true story of the unsung RAF heroes of World War II, John Blake Publishing, London UK, 2013

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