LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Bernard Keith Falls CARTER
Service No: 413961
Born: Armidale NSW, 15 April 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 October 1941
Unit: No. 20 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 20 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit Oxford aircraft HN727), Northamptonshire, 22 December 1943, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Bournemouth (Winborne Road) Cemetery, Hampshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frederick Norman and Alice Mabel Carter, of Bowning, New South Wales Australia
Roll of Honour: Bowning NSW
Remembered: Panel 120, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Yass Soldiers’ Memorial Hall World War II Roll of Honour, Yass NSW
Remembered: St Clement’s Anglican Church’s Parish Memorial Hall, Yass NSW
During a non-operational night flight on 22 December 1943, Oxford HN727 crashed at 1910 hours at Northcade and the crew of two was killed. The Instructor and Pilot were carrying out searchlight co-operation, and it appears the pilot may have been blinded, and the aircraft dived to the ground. It was also considered that the pilot may have lost control by taking too violent evasive action.
The crew members of HN727 were:
Flight Sergeant Donald John Morgan Brown (422415) (Second Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Bernard Keith Falls Carter (413961) (Instructor, First Pilot)
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, 166/7/276
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line