LEST WE FORGET

Flying Officer Frederick Thomas THORNLEY

Service No: 411059
Born: Sydney NSW, 21 May 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 31 March 1941
Unit: No. 453 Squadron, RAF Station Ibsley, Hampshire
Died: Air Operations: (No. 453 Squadron Spitfire aircraft EE630), Netherlands, 15 August 1943, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Flushing (Vlissingen) Northern Cemetery, Zeeland, Netherlands
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frederick and Elsie May Thornley; husband of Heather Rachel Thornley, of Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Hurstville NSW
Remembered: Panel 105, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: NSW Hurstville War Memorial, Hurstville NSW

On 15 August 1943, Spitfire EE630 flown by Flying Officer Thornley was in a Squadron formation detailed to provide escort cover for 36 Marauders in a raid on an airfield at Yoendrecht, Netherlands. On the return journey over Walcheren Island at about 1100 hours and a height of 16,000 feet, Flying Officer Thornley’s Section was spit up by an attack by 12 to 15 Fw190s and an aircraft presumed to be EE630 was seen going down in a vertical dive after being fired on by two enemy aircraft.

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, 163/58/72
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line

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