LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman Russell Aubrey BALLARD
Service No: 72572
Born: Bowraville NSW, 8 August 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 November 1942
Unit: No. 5 Communication Unit, Garbutt (now RAAF Base Townsville) QLD
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 5 Communication Unit Beaufort aircraft A9-733), Garbutt, 13 November 1945, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Townsville War Cemetery, QLD
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George Claude and Alice Amelia Ballard, of Bowraville, New South Wales; husband of Hazel Joyce Ballard, of Bowraville, New South Wales.
Roll of Honour: Bowraville NSW
Remembered: Panel 111, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Hobart Cenotaph, Queens Domain, TAS
On 13 November 1945 Beaufort aircraft A9-733 crashed at Townsville during a test flight and all on board were killed. On board were:
Leading Aircraftman Russell Aubrey Ballard (72572) (Flight Mechanic)
Leading Aircraftman Basil Colin Hely Crocker (453125) (Flight Rigger)
Leading Aircraftman Eric Francis Dunne (441124) (Fight Rigger)
Leading Aircraftman Leonard Jack Hackett (170901) (Flight Rigger)
Leading Aircraftman Frederick Robinson Palmer (46793) (Fabric Worker)
Squadron Leader Francis Henry Wann Robilliard (1973) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Andrew James Turton (414176) (Wireless Operator Air)
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, 266
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990