LEST WE FORGET
Flight Lieutenant Donald John WILSON
Service No: 414286
Born: Townsville QLD, 16 October 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 17 August 1941
Unit: No. 130 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Injuries: Prisoner of War (following the loss of No. 130 Squadron Spitfire aircraft RM749 on 8 December 1944), Germany, 10 December 1944, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Philip Vaughan Wilson and Hylda Mary Wilson, of Cooladdi, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Cooladdi QLD
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1430 hours on 8 December 1944 Spitfire RM749 took off as part of a six aircraft formation detailed to carry out and armed reconnaissance and fighter sweep in the Munster area. While attacking a train the Squadron sighted about 20 ME109s and FW190s. In the ensuing engagement, Flight Lieutenant Wilson over the radio said he had been hit and asked for a homing vector which was given. A few minutes later at 1510 hours he again stated he had been badly hit and was ‘going to go down’. At this time the aircraft was north-west of Bergensteinfurt. Nothing further was heard from Flight Lieutenant Wilson.
In a letter to Flight Lieutenant Wilson’s father on the RAAF Casualty file it is stated “your son survived the aircraft crash on 8 December 1944 but is believed to have been taken prisoner, and to have lost his life on 10 December 1944. The circumstances of his death are subject to investigation by the Allied War Crimes Tribunal. Your son’s body was found near the bank of the Ems River not far from Rheine airfield, Germany, in circumstances which indicate his death was not due to any injury he might have received when the aircraft crashed.”
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, 166/43/261