LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant William Thomas BRAIN
Service No: 420130
Born: Newcastle NSW, 30 January 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 October 1941
Unit: No. 100 Squadron, Gurney Airfield, Milne Bay PNG
Died: Air Operations (No. 100 Squadron Beaufort aircraft A9-225), at sea west of Bougainville, 12 July 1943, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Thomas Brain and Alma Vera Brain, of Newcastle, New South Wales.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 9, Port Moresby Memorial, PNG
Remembered: Panel 104, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 12 July 1943, Beaufort A9-225 was lost on operations from Gurney Airfield. The confirmatory memorandum of the loss indicates that the aircraft may have been brought down by friendly fire. An extensive search was conducted over the succeeding days but nothing was found. The crew members of A9-225 were:
Sergeant William Thomas Brain (420130) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant George Collins (420447) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flying Officer John Clifton Davis (416834) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Geoffrey Raymond Emmett (401932) (Observer)
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, 248
Bibliography:
Graham, B. (Burton) and Frank Smyth, A Nation Grew Wings: The Story of the RAAF Beaufort Squadrons in New Guinea, Winterset House Publishers Melbourne VIC, 1946
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990