LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Desmond Vincent WATSON
Service No: 424243
Born: North Bondi NSW, 30 November 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 August 1942
Unit: No. 31 Squadron (SAAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 31 Squadron Liberator aircraft KH154), Italy, 13 October 1944, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Milan War Cemetery, Italy
CWGC Additional Information: Son of P. J. and Elsa M. Watson, of Nth. Bondi, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 134, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the night of 12/13 October 1944, Liberator KH154 together with 16 aircraft from the Squadron were detailed to drop supplies to Italian partisans in the foothills of the Alps three miles north of Bra, Italy. The aircraft took off at 1606 hours. The night was dark with the cloud building up north from the Appenines with the tops of clouds 8/10,000 feet. Nothing was heard from KH154 and it failed to return to base. All the other aircraft returned safely and the wreck of KH154 was discovered later with all crew members having been killed.
The crew members of KH154 were:
Sergeant Harry Heald Bawden (1478506) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Aubrey Ross Best (1602024) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Sydney Sapenne De Lisle (1213386) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Arthur Donald Griffin (631190) (RAF) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant James Houghton (2211819) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Duncan Carswell Roland Shearer (1522169) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant Desmond Vincent Watson (424243) (Pilot)
Sergeant Wallace Randal Young (1895808) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
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, 166/43/911