LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Jack Edmund WILMITH
Service No: 432927
Born: Narrabri NSW, 9 December 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 30 January 1943
Unit: No. 159 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 159 Squadron Liberator aircraft KL671), Myanmar, 3 August 1945, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James William George and Evelyn Sarah Wilmith, of Narrabri, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Narrabri NSW
Remembered: Column 458, Singapore Memorial, Singapore
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Commonwealth Bank of Australia Honour Rolls, Sydney NSW
On 3 August 1945 Liberator KL671 was detailed for special duties in the Toungoo area north east of Rangoon. The aircraft took off at 0820 hours and was due over the drop zone at 1200 hours and then return at 1630 hours. The aircraft failed to return to base from the mission. The wreck of the aircraft was subsequently located on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River near Bigaing at 19.47N 095.04 E. Six bodies were found, but they could not be identified and were buried at the scene of the crash. The aircraft appeared to have broken up in flight.
The crew members of KL671 were:
Flight Sergeant Stanley Alexander (1895231) (RAFVR) (Tail Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant Officer Donald Cross Finlayson (427077) (RNZAF) (Navigator)
Warrant Officer David Joseph Gallagher (421505) (RNZAF) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Edward Francis Hughes (2210463) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant James Jobson (1567017) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air)
Warrant Officer Colin William McCarthy (425534) (RNZAF) (Nose Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Victor Gordon Taylor (1684358) (RAFVR) (Bomb Aimer)
Warrant Officer Jack Edmund Wilmith (432927) (Second Pilot)
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, 166/43/1554
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line