LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer William David Bruce ALLEN
From Australia serving in the Royal Air Force
Service No: 1195055
Born: Date, Location unavailable
Enlisted in the RAF: Date unavailable
Unit: No. 271 Squadron (RAF), RAF Down Ampney, Gloucestershire
Died: Air Operations (No. 271 Squadron Dakota aircraft KP512), Ramscappelle, Belgium, 21 September 1944, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Boam Allen and Florence Elizabeth Allen, of Fremantle, Western Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 231, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
On 21 September 1944, KP512 took off from Down Ampney on a resupply mission in support of the Second British Army advancing over land to relieve airborne troops at Arnhem as part of Operation Market Garden. The aircraft crashed at Ramscapelle, Belgium, and all four crew members were killed. The bodies of three crew members were recovered and are buried in the Adegem Canadian Cemetery.
The crew members of KP512 were:
Warrant Officer William David Bruce Allen (1195055) (RAFVR) (Second Pilot)
Flight Sergeant William Noel Anfield (1456766) (RAFVR) (Radio Operator)
Flying Officer John William Hartley (152698) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Flying Officer William Ian Desmond Smith (154319) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
References:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/3/284
Website: LostAircraft.com