LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer Leslie Harold WINNEKE
Service No: 417032
Born: Booleroo Centre SA, 25 August 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 8 November 1941
Unit: No. 57 Squadron (RAF), RAF East Kirkby, Lincolnshire
Died: Air Operations (No. 57 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ND878), Germany, 23 May 1944, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Becklingen War Cemetery, Soltau, Niedersachsen, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Paul Berthold Winneke and Ottilie Pauline Marie Winneke, of Yandiah, South Australia
Roll of Honour: Wirrabara SA
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
Lancaster ND878 took off from East Kirkby at 2216 hours on the night of 22 May 1944, detailed to bomb Brunswick, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. It was later established that the aircraft was shot down by a night fighter at 0215 hours on 23rd May 1944. It exploded in the air over Ottersberg a town 25 kms east north east from Bremen. All the crew members were killed
The crew members of ND878 were:
Signaller Reginald Roy Frost (1580431) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air)
Pilot Officer Edward George Graves (186550) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant Alan Ife (1375322) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant John Joseph Mahoney (273734) (Navigator)
Sergeant James Alexander Moore (1117487) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Pilot Officer Leslie Harold Winneke (417032) (Pilot)
Sergeant Raymond Hedley Wright (1579870) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
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, 166/43/685