LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Colin WESTON
Service No: 405164
Born: Brisbane QLD, 24 March 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 2 February 1941
Unit: No. 48 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Wick
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 48 Squadron Hudson aircraft AN730), near Wick, 14 April 1942, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Wick Cemetery, Caithness-shire, Scotland
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George William and Violet Barry Weston, of Sherwood, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 0200 hours on 14 April 1942 Hudson AN730 took off from Wick and crashed immediately after take-off. The aircraft appeared to climb away very steeply, stalled and crashed hitting the ground at right angles to the direction of take-off. The right wing struck the ground first and all the crew members were killed. Standard runway lighting was in use, but no floodlighting. The weather at the time was fine.
The crew members of AN730 were:
Flight Lieutenant Daniel Richard Arkell (83985) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Albert Edgar Scull (114052) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Kenneth Francis Wale (915428) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Colin Weston (405164) (Observer)
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, 163/177/246