LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Gordon Jeffrey STOKES
Service No: 412747
Born: Ontario, Canada, 18 July 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 20 July 1941 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 198 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 198 Squadron Typhoon aircraft JP503), France, 7 June 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Les Moutiers-Hubert Churchyard, Calvados, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Albert Harry and Lily May Stokes, of Engadine, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 7 June 1944 Typhoon JP503 flown by Warrant Officer Stokes was flying as one of a formation of 12 aircraft from the Squadron (3 sections of 4). The Section in which Warrant Officer Stokes was flying located a tank just west of Cormeilles and proceeded to attack. The pilot who attacked before Stokes saw tracer bullets from a machine gun near the target. JF503 attacked and the aircraft was hit by machine gun fire. The aircraft was seen to pull up from the attack with a small flame coming from under the starboard wing. Warrant Officer Stokes took the aircraft up under control and went into cloud at approximately 1,200 feet. During the climb the Formation Leader saw an object fall away from the aircraft, which he believed to be the cockpit hood. JF503 was then seen to come out of the cloud and crash at approximately 0910 hours, 4 miles west south west of Cormeilles. No one saw Warrant Officer Stokes bale out from the aircraft and he was killed.
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, 166/38/549