LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Julian Peter WORTHINGTON
Service No: 300142
Born: Narrabri NSW, 2 April 1911
Enlisted in the RAAF: 9 October 1942 (at Melbourne VIC)
Unit: No. 19 Group Communication Flight (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 19 Group Communication Unit Tiger Moth aircraft DH 264), Devon, 5 January 1944, Aged 32 Years
Buried: Bath (Haycombe) Cemetery, Somerset
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Albert Gardner Hudson Worthington and Helene May Worthington; husband of Hessel Mary Worthington, of Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia. Pharmaceutical Chemist
Roll of Honour: Box Hill VIC
Remembered: Panel 133, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 5 January 1944, Tiger Moth DH264 took off from RAF Mount Batten to proceed to RAF Rodborough for airmanship practice. The aircraft was detailed to carry out flying practice beyond the circuit area and land in one hour’s time. The aircraft spun in near Port Bridge, Devon, and Flight Sergeant Worthington was killed. In a later statement the Pilot said: “the aircraft took off with Worthington in the front cockpit and I set coursed for Dartmoor. In Dartmoor I instructed Worthington that I was going to carry out aerobatics and to secure his safety harness. I completed one loop and then warned Worthington I was going to practice recovery from spin. I did one complete spin but considered I did 2 or 3, and my next recollection was lying on the ground, but I don’t know how I got clear of the aircraft.” An Inquiry into the accident found that “it was an error of judgement by the Pilot in which he overestimated the height of the aircraft in relation to the contour of the land.”
The crew members of DH264 were:
Sergeant Harry Norton Trowbridge (21587) (Pilot) Discharged from the RAAF: 3 July 1945
Flight Sergeant Julian Peter Worthington (300142) (Navigator)
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, 166/44/84