LEST WE FORGET
Lieutenant George William BEST
Service No: 1010
Born: Hobart TAS, February 1896
Enlisted in the Army: 12 October 1916
Unit: No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps
Died: Air Operations, France, 12 April 1918, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Vignacourt British Cemetery, Vignacourt, Picardie, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Edward and Lucy Jane Best, of “Cambrai,” Hampden Rd., Hobart, Tasmania
Place of Association: Hobart TAS
Remembered: Panel 188, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the following day (12 April) two accidents occurred on the aerodrome through machines crashing in taking off; Lieutenants G. W. Best and O. G. Lewis (Observer) (1) were killed, and Lieutenants L. Fryberg (2) and O. H. Suess (3) were injured (4).
(1) RE8 aircraft B3435
(2) Lieutenant Louis Fryberg MM 4490; Born Bendigo VIC, 1896
(3) Lieutenant Otto Harold Suess 1087; Born Brisbane QLD, 25 January 1894
(4) RE8 aircraft A4758
Extract from Cutlack, F.M. (Frederic Morley) The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War 1914-8, Angus and Robertson Ltd Sydney, 1941 – Page 260
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record B2455, BEST G W
National Archives UK RAF Casualty Book AIR 1/969 page 180, 21520
Bibliography:
Muller, P. (Peter) and Hutchinson, J. (John) Secrets Revealed: a brief history of No. 3 Squadron RAAF, Lutheran Publishing House Adelaide SA 5000, 1991
Wrigley, H.N. (Henry Neilsen) (6) The Battle Below: Being the history of No. 3 Squadron AFC, Errol G. Knox Sydney NSW, 1935