LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Ronald Vivian TIBBALLS
Service No: 418591
Born: Wonthaggi VIC, 21 February 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 23 May 1943
Unit: No. 30 Squadron, Port Moresby PNG
Died: Air Operations: (No. 30 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft A19-134), near Kiriwina, 21 February 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Charles Augustus Tibballs and Daisy Ferguson Tibballs, of Murrumbeena, Victoria
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 35, Rabaul Memorial, PNG
Remembered: Panel 102, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 21 February 1944, Beaufighter A19-134 went missing in the vicinity of Kiriwina. Later the wreck of the aircraft was found in position 08.20S 151.07E. There was no trace of any survivors. The crew members were:
Flight Sergeant William Lawrence Daniels (416416) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Ronald Vivian Tibballs (418591) (Navigator)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/39/239
Bibliography:
Parnell, N.M. (Neville M.) Whispering Death: A history of the RAAF’s Beaufighter Squadrons, AH & AW Reed Terry Hills NSW, 1980
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990