LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Stanley Noel CURTIS
Service No: 401744
Born: Rushworth VIC, 15 June 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 28 March 1941
Unit: No. 166 Squadron (RAF). RAF Station Kirmington
Died: Air Operations: (No. 166 Squadron Wellington aircraft X3965), North West Europe, 30 March 1943, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Edwin William and Lucy Florence Curtis; husband of Lindsey Curtis, of Rushworth, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Rushworth VIC
Remembered: Panel 192, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 121, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1943 hours on the night of 29/30 March 1943 Wellington X3965 took off from Kirmington being one of twelve squadron aircraft detailed to attack Bochum, Germany. Weather conditions were good, with good visibility and no cloud over the target. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it did not return to base. Following post war enquiries and investigations, it was recorded in 1950 that the missing crew members had no known graves.
The crew members of X3965 were:
Flight Sergeant Jack Bernard Bayliss (412098) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Owen Eastwood Collins (414961) (RNZAF) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Stanley Noel Curtis (401744) (Rear Gunner)
Sergeant John Gordon Hubbard (1377312) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Flying Officer Leslie Young (125603) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
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, 166/8/72