LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Rollo Burrows THOMSON
Service No: 413689
Born: Pentland QLD, 26 February 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 12 September 1941 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 10 Flying Training School (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 10 Flying Training School Magister aircraft V1072), Henley, 14 March 1943, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Reading (Henley Road) Cemetery, Oxfordshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Ernest and Alice Fortune Thomson; husband of Nina Margaret Thomson, of Mosman, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: North Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 131, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1130 hours on 14 March 1943, Magister V1072 flown by Sergeant Thomson took off detailed to carry out medium gliding, climbing, and steep turns in the aerobatic area. The aircraft crashed in
the vicinity of Henley and he was killed. The flight was his second solo flight in a Magister aircraft, and he had not received dual instruction in aerobatics. An Inquiry into the accident stated: “Eye witnesses saw the aircraft looping, and the loops executed by the pilot were in complete disregard of orders. They were carried out under 3,000 feet which was also contrary to orders. A clear case of disobedience of orders for which the pilot paid the extreme penalty – his life.”
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, 166/39/39