LEST WE FORGET
Aircraftman Class I Arthur Raymond WALDRON
Service No: 445734
Born: Homebush NSW, 21 October 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 18 July 1944
Unit: No. 5 Operational Training Unit
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 5 Operational Training Unit Mosquito aircraft A52-86), off Newcastle NSW, 19 September 1945, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Arthur Edmund and Mabel Katherine Waldron, of Homebush, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 7, Sydney Memorial, Rookwood NSW
Remembered: Panel 113, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
During a non-operational flight on 19 September 1945, Mosquito A52-86 crashed in the sea at 1130 hours, off Cemetery Point, approximately 20 miles north of Newcastle and the crew of two was killed. The aircraft took off at 1030 hours from Williamtown detailed to carry out gunnery practice at the Cemetery Point Gunnery Range. On completion of the exercise, the aircraft flew low over the quadrant hut. Wing Commander Claude Henry Carey Thompson DFC AFC (290351) (Discharged: 19 November 1945) in company with Flying Officer Gregory Jakimov DFC (411787) (Discharged: 28 September 1945), the Range Officer, saw the tailplane of the aircraft strike a wireless telegraph mast near the hut. The impact caused the aircraft to lose its starboard elevator. Immediately after striking the mast the aircraft climbed to approximately 1,200 feet, and then fell out of control into the sea. On striking the water it broke up and burned.
The crew members of A52-85 were:
Flight Lieutenant Arthur Sampson McEvoy (411157) (Pilot)
Aircraftman Class I Arthur Raymond Waldron (445734) (Electrician)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/43/1683; A705, 32/32/527
Bibliography:
Vincent, D. (David) Mosquito Monograph: A history of Mosquitoes in Australia and RAAF operations, David Vincent Highbury SA 5089, 1982