LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Mervyn CADDY
Service No: 404951
Born: Perth WA, 16 April 1910
Enlisted in the RAAF: 5 January 1941 (at Brisbane QLD)
Unit: No. 61 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Syerston
Died: Air Operations: (No. 61 Squadron Lancaster aircraft R5663), off the Swedish Coast, 4 July 1942, Aged 32 Years
Buried: Halsingborg (Palsjo) Municipal Cemetery, Sweden
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Joseph and Rebecca Ellinor May Caddy, of Mackay, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Rockhampton QLD
Remembered: Panel 119, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2235 hours on the night of 3 July 1942 Lancaster R5663 took off from Syerston detailed to carry out a mine-laying sortie in the Nasturtium area. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. R5663 was hit by anti-aircraft fire off Helsingdor, Denmark, and crashed in shallow water 200 metres from Lerberget near the Swedish port of Halsingborg. The aircraft was seen by other aircraft on the mission to dive into the sea from 5,000 feet. As the aircraft from the Squadron were the only ones in the area at the time, it was believed the aircraft shot down was R5663. The Pilot was thrown out by the impact and was picked up by a local vessel and interned in Sweden. The other six crew members were killed.
The crew members of R5663 were:
Sergeant Mervyn Caddy (404951) (Observer)
Sergeant Bruce Morgan (R/82076) (RCAF) (Wireless Air Gunner acting as Air Bomber)
Sergeant Jack Pritchard (1377413) (RAFVR) (Second Pilot)
Sergeant James Metcalfe Raine (648020) (RAF) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Sergeant John Samson (1369354) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Sergeant Harry Victor Turton (1167137) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant G E Williams (R/62400) (RCAF) (Pilot) Rescued
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, 163/95/315