LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Ian James THOMPSON
Service No: 32311
Born: Opotoki, New Zealand, 18 October 1909
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 July 1940 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 106 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Metheringham
Died: Air Operations: (No. 106 Squadron Lancaster aircraft PB144), France, 8 July 1944, Aged 34 Years
Buried: Marissel French National Cemetery, Oise, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James Thomas Thompson and Mary Jane Thompson, of Opotiki, Auckland, New Zealand
Roll of Honour: Opotoki NZ
Remembered: Panel 131, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2220 hours on the night of 7 July 1944 Lancaster PB144 took off from Metheringham detailed to bomb a flying bomb storage depot at St Leu d’Esserant, France. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed at 0130 hours bursting into flames at La Fusee, near Ste-Genevieve (Oise), 18kms south south east of Beauvais. All the crew members were killed.
The crew members of PB144 were:
Flying Officer Juan Alberto Adams-Langley (156744) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Sergeant Eric George Banks (1428222) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Pilot Officer Gordon Robert Howell (187222) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Squadron Leader Trevor Owen Marshall DFC (39671) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Flying Officer Patrick Joseph O’Leary (434189) (Rear Gunner)
Flying Officer Ian James Thompson (32311) (Navigator)
Flying Officer Leslie Charles Zeffertt (159153) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
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, 166/39/309