LEST WE FORGET

Flight Sergeant William John YATES

Service No: 425801
Born: Gatton QLD, 3 February 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 26 April 1942
Unit: No. 30 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 30 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft A19-53), New Guinea, 30 November 1943, Aged 19 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Frederick and Daisy Drayton Yates, of Gatton, Queensland.
Roll of Honour: Gatton QLD
Remembered: Panel 6, Lae Memorial, PNG
Remembered: Panel 102, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

Beaufighter aircraft A19-53 was lost on operations over the Solomon Sea on 30 November 1943 with crew Flying Officer Gordon Albert Lucas (415159) (Pilot) and Flight Sergeant William John Yates (425801) (Navigator).

References:

Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9845, 13

Bibliography:

Parnell, N.M. (Neville M.) Whispering Death: A history of the RAAF’s Beaufighter Squadrons, AH & AW Reed Terry Hills NSW, 1980
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990

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