LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Maurice Samuel THOMAS
Service No: 272080
Born: Portsmouth, England, 13 April 1905
Enlisted in the RAAF: 27 June 1940 (at Cairns QLD)
Unit: Headquarters RAAF Station Townsville QLD
Died: Aircraft Accident (Headquarters RAAF Station Townsville Tiger Moth aircraft A17-242), El Arish area QLD, 19 July 1942, Aged 37 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Samuel Robert and Bessie Ada Thomas; husband of Elise Janet Thomas, of Brisbane, Queensland. Oil Geologist (London)
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 5, Sydney Memorial, Rookwood NSW
Remembered: Panel 97, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 19 July 1942, Tiger Moth A17-242 took off from Townsville at approximately 0935 hours on a travel flight to Cairns of about 2 hours duration. A small aircraft, probably the Tiger Moth, was seen half an hour after take-off flying over Tully in a northerly direction, and a short time later over El Arish flying in a north north west direction and it appeared that the engine was not functioning properly. Nothing further was seen of the aircraft and it failed to arrive at its destination. Searches for the aircraft and crew members were unsuccessful.
The crew members of A17-242 were:
Pilot Officer James Eric Covell (405833) (Pilot)
Flying Officer Maurice Samuel Thomas (272080) (Station Navigation Officer)
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, 163/58/84; A9845, 45