LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Frederick William DENNIS
Service No: 402154
Born: Dubbo NSW, 27 June 1913
Enlisted in the RAAF: 24 June 1940
Unit: No. 14 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 14 Squadron Blenheim aircraft Z5860), off the North African Coast, 14 December 1941, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Fitz William and Mary Julia Dennis, of Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Dubbo NSW
Remembered: Column 245, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 121, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Dubbo Memorial Drive and Rose Gardens, Dubbo NSW
Remembered: Mendooran Honour Wall, Mendooran NSW
On 14 December 1941 Blenheim Z5860 together with 5 other Squadron aircraft took off for an individual cloud cover raid on motor transport on the Barce – Cirene road. Nothing was heard from Z5860 after take-off and it did not return to base. Following post war enquiries and investigations, it was assumed that the missing crew members had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of Z5860 were:
Sergeant William Robert Campbell (R/69645) (RCAF) (Observer)
Sergeant Frederick William Dennis (402154) (Pilot)
Sergeant John Aubrey Redfern (1169807) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
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, 163/101/85
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line
Bibliography:
Napier, Michael Winged Crusaders: the exploits of 14 Squadron RFC & RAF 1915-1945, Pen & Sword Books, Barnsley UK, 2012