LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Keith Warren BARDSLEY
Service No: 423040
Born: Mosman NSW, 2 May 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 20 June 1942
Unit: No. 178 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations (No. 178 Squadron Liberator aircraft EW280), Hungary, 13 October 1944, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Budapest War Cemetery, Hungary
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frank Korrien and Violet Mary Bardsley, of Glebe, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Rose Bay NSW
Remembered: Panel 118, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: University of Sydney World War 2 Roll of Honour, Camperdown NSW
On 13 October 1944 Liberator EW280 took off from Amandola, Italy, detailed to attack Szekesfehervar, Hungary. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft crashed at Alsoloped on 13 October 1944, and all the crew members were killed. The last known position of the aircraft was reported by other crews who saw what appeared to be an aircraft struck by anti-aircraft fire causing a burst of flame in the sky, followed by scattered debris burning on the ground. The time was approximately 2020 to 2040 hours and the location 10 to 20 miles north of Pecs, Hungary.
The crew members of EW280 were:
Warrant Officer Keith Warren Bardsley (423040) (Pilot)
Sergeant Joseph Robert Chambers (1597429) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Louis William Fiest (574429) (RAF) (Navigator)
Sergeant Joseph Gerrard (1000145) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Robert Henry Hughes (913416) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant James Henry Prince Jibson (545369) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Norman Buckley Molyneux (1819004) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant John James Robinson (1795398) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
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, 166/5/741
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line