LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant James WILLIAMS
Service No: 415709
Born: Liverpool England, 3 October 1910
Enlisted in the RAAF: 7 December 1941 (at Perth WA)
Unit: No. 20 Operational Training Unit (RAF), RAF Lossiemouth, Morayshire
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 20 Operational Training Unit Wellington aircraft HE751), Lossiemouth, 23 January 1944, Aged 33 Years
Buried: Liverpool (Anfield) Cemetery, Lancashire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Thomas and Catherine Williams; husband of Muriel Clarke Williams, of Subiaco, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Mount Magnet WA
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
On the 23 January 1944, Wellington HE751 took off from RAF Lossiemouth at 116 hours, for a fighter affiliation training exercise. During the flight, the aircraft dived from 4,000 feet and crashed on the Elgin Golf course. All the six on board were killed.
The crew members of HE751 were:
Sergeant Robert William Burton (R/192592) (RCAF) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant George Fitzgerald Couse (R/197319) (RCAF) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Laurence Wilfred Gransden (1464570) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Sergeant Dennis James Hurley (1457547) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Sergeant Donald Sanderson (1684681) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Flight Sergeant James Williams (415709) (Wireless 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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/43/499