LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Charles John DUMAS
Service No: 407615
Born: North Adelaide SA, 18 March 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 7 December 1940
Unit: No. 223 Squadron RAF / No. 1437 Strategic Reconnaissance Flight RAF, Quassissin, Egypt
Died: Air Operations (No. 223 Squadron Baltimore aircraft AG737), Libya, 10 August 1942, Aged 23Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Edmund Russell Dumas and Gertrude Diosma Dumas, of St. Peters, South Australia.
Roll of Honour: St Peters SA
Remembered: Column 263, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 121, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Brother of Flying Officer Keith Russell Dumas (407055)
Baltimore AG737 of 223 Squadron, operating as part of 1437 Strategic Reconnaissance Flight,
RAF Middle East, took off at 1000 hours on 10 August 1942 to carry out a reconnaissance patrol over enemy positions in the Western Desert and Libya. Nothing further was heard from the aircraft after take off. It was later reported by the Free French that the wreck of the aircraft was found east of Lake Margh-Ra, and that there were no survivors. In 1949, No 1 War Graves Commission reported that they had no burial information with the missing crew members recorded as having no known grave.
The crew members of AG737 were:
Flight Sergeant Harold Marcus Carter (400525) (Observer)
Flying Officer Charles John Dumas (407615) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Keith Eric Humphries (406217) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Frederick John Millar (778911) (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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/28/111