LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Donald Peter DRUMMOND
Service No: 426325
Born: Brisbane QLD, 25 April 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 20 June 1942
Unit: No. 183 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 183 Squadron Typhoon aircraft DN248), Netherlands, 1 April 1945, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Hardenberg Protestant Cemetery, Overijssel, Netherlands
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Peter and Elsie May Drummond, of Wooloowin, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 121, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 1 April 1945, Warrant Officer Smith in Mustang VO911 was leading a section of two Typhoons with Drummond as his No. 2 on an armed reconnaissance in an area north and east of Davender. While attacking two transports on a road near VO911 we were attacked by light anti-aircraft fire as Smith broke into cloud. About a minute later when he let down through the cloud, Drummond was nowhere around. Smith called him on the radio and Drummond replied that he was all right. Smith told Drummond to return to base, and 10 minutes later called Drummond again, and Drummond replied again he was all right. That was the last that Smith heard of him and DN248 failed to return to base. A Missing Research and Enquiry team later reported: “the aircraft crashed on a heath near Bruchterveld, which is situated near Hardenberg and approximately 15 miles north east of Dusseldorf, Germany.”
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, 166/10/638