LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Lindsay Page BACON
Service No: 62186
Born: Coffs Harbour NSW, 25 January 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 9 February 1942
Unit: No. 7 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Oakington
Died: Air Operations (No. 7 Squadron Lancaster aircraft PB667), Netherlands, 20 March 1945, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Bergen-op-Zoom War Cemetery, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Victor Frederick and Emily Bacon, of Maroubra, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 118, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: University of Sydney World War II Roll of Honour, Camperdown NSW
At 1031 hours on 20 March 1945 Lancaster PB667 took off from Oakington detailed to mark the railway yards at Recklinghausen. On return from the target, the aircraft came down near the Schelde estuary on land owned by Mr Remijn at Nieudorf on Zuid Beveland (Zeeland). All the crew members were killed.
The crew members of PB667 were:
Flying Officer Lindsay Page Bacon (62186) (Pilot)
Sergeant James Alex Cornwall (2210978) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Richard Roy Evans (1652888) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Sergeant Harry McClements (1592648) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flying Officer George Henry Huttlestone (154615) (RAFVR) (Bomb Aimer)
Sergeant John Edward Taylor (1869161) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Warrant Officer Philip Athol Tennant (425771) (RNZAF) (Wireless Operator)
In a letter dated 27 March 1945 written to Miss Bacon by Sergeant E Dovey, RM, Commando Provost, HQ 4 Commando Brigade, West Holland, he wrote “On 20 March I stood watching a large number of British bombers crossing our territory on their homeward journey. Almost the last bomber was flying lower than the others and I noticed it was badly shot up with one engine on fire. It lost height rapidly and the pilot in a gallant effort to avoid a town, accelerated and by doing so blew up the engine that was on fire causing him to lose control of the machine and crash. With the aid of another soldier I managed to get the fire under control and we then extricated the bodies of the crew. All the crew were buried by their machine with full military honours .A letter found on one of the men gave the name of Flying Officer Bacon, Australian 62186.”
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, 166/5/1020
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line