LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant William Lawrence DANIELS
Service No: 416416
Born: Milang SA, 20 December 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 23 June 1941
Unit: No. 30 Squadron, Port Moresby PNG
Died: Air Operations (No. 30 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft A19-134), near Kiriwina, 21 February 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Thomas Daniels and Christina Maude Daniels, of Milang, South Australia
Roll of Honour: Milang SA
Remembered: Panel 35, Rabaul Memorial, PNG
Remembered: Panel 102, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
On 21 February 1944, Beaufighter A19-134 went missing in the vicinity of Kiriwina. Later the wreck of the aircraft was found in position 08.20S 151.07E. There was no trace of any survivors. The crew members were:
Flight Sergeant William Lawrence Daniels (416416) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Ronald Vivian Tibballs (418591) (Navigator)
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 A705, 166/9/258
Bibliography:
Parnell, N.M. (Neville M.) Whispering Death: A history of the RAAF’s Beaufighter Squadrons, AH & AW Reed, Terry Hills NSW, 1980
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990