LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Albert Ernest WOOD
Service No: 426850
Born: Brisbane QLD, 20 March 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 14 August 1942
Unit: No. 207 Squadron (RAF), RAF Spilsby, Lincolnshire
Died: Air Operations: (No. 207 Squadron Lancaster aircraft NG230), North West Europe, 5 March 1945, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Albert Ernest and Annie Besant Wood, of Sandgate, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Sandgate QLD
Remembered: Panel 284, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Lancaster NG230 took off from RAF Station Spilsby at 1716 hours on 5 March 1945 for a bombing raid on Bohlen, Germany. It carried 1 x 1000 lb (pound) (450 kg) and 12 x 500 lb (225 kg) bombs. The aircraft did not return to base. A 1950 report by the Missing Research & Enquiry Service advised that after prolonged search and investigation no information relating to the aircraft loss or the fate of its crew was found.
The crew members of NG230 were:
Sergeant Andrew Sweeting Burt (3040594) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flying Officer William Sowden De Garis (437120) (Pilot)
Sergeant William Drysdale (1826957) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant William Henry Edge (2222026) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Stanley Frederick Giles (1322210) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Flying Officer Gordon Morris (154529) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Warrant Officer Albert Ernest Wood (426850) (Wireless Operator/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, 166/44/245