LEST WE FORGET

Pilot Officer John Edwin Francis WALL

Service No: 412286
Born: Wentworthville NSW, 13 July 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 22 June 1941
Unit: No. 14 Squadron (RAF), Detachment Grottaglie, Italy
Died: Air Operations: (No. 14 Squadron Marauder aircraft AB26), Adriatic Sea, 1 July 1944, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Richard Francis and Clyda Wall, of Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 16, Column 1, Malta Memorial, Malta
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

At 0515 hours on 1 July 1944 Marauder AB26 took off to carry out a low level coastal reconnaissance of the Adriatic Sea. No signals were received from the aircraft after take-off and efforts to communicate with the aircraft proved unsuccessful. Another Marauder took off and covered the same route but did not see the missing aircraft. The next day Marauders and two Beaufighters carried out further searches but were unsuccessful. The mission involved a trip of 6.5 hours, and was in an area frequently covered by Squadron aircraft. Enemy aircraft opposition was generally negligible, but anti-aircraft fire from heavy shore batteries along the coast line was often encountered. Following post war enquiries and investigations, it was recorded in 1949 that the missing crew members were lost at sea.

The crew members of AB26 were:

Flight Lieutenant Neil Cornish (411613) (RNZAF) (Pilot)
Flying Officer Kenneth Davis (155409) (RAFVR) (Second Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Aiden Finn (1087897) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Warrant Officer Walter William McKeown (1316530) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant John Denys Phillips (112535) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Pilot Officer John Edwin Francis Wall (412286) (Wireless Operator/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, 166/43/740

Bibliography:

Napier, Michael Winged Crusaders: the exploits of 14 Squadron RFC & RAF 1915-1945, Pen & Sword Books, Barnsley UK, 2012

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