LEST WE FORGET
Aircraftman Class I Alexander Edward ELRICK
Service No: 30954
Born: Hobart TAS, 16 November 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 17 March 1941
Unit: No. 461 Squadron, RAF Station Hamworthy, Dorset
Died: Air Operations (No. 461 Squadron Sunderland aircraft T9085), Western Approaches (North Atlantic), 21 January 1943, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Robert Tasman Elrick and Ethel Lillian Elrick, of West Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Roll of Honour: Hobart TAS
Remembered: Panel 197, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 108, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Rathmines Memorial Bowling Club, Rathmines NSW
On 21 January 1943 Flight Lieutenant Buls and the crew of Sunderland T9085 went missing in bad weather over the Western Approaches. An unsuccessful search was made and a No. 279 Squadron RAF Hudson aircraft was lost during the search though the crew members parachuted to safety.
The crew members of T9085 were:
Pilot Officer Eric Bradley (138813) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator / Air Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant Bruce Lyndon Buls (403129) (Pilot)
Flying Officer Hal Ian Comer Dent (411428) (Navigator / B)
Aircraftman Alexander Edward Elrick (30954) (Fitter II A)
Sergeant Percy Evans (1201919) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator / Air Gunner)
Sergeant Owen Stewart Filmer (403091) (Wireless Operator / Air Gunner)
Sergeant John William Joseph Gill (15186) (Fitter IIE / Air Gunner)
Sergeant Noel Henry Raybould Hart (404915) (Wireless Operator / Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Jack Henry Moore (411801) (Co-Pilot)
Flying Officer Henry Lawrence Osborne (403600) (Co-Pilot)
Sergeant Roy Ambrose Stuart Tucker (6241) (Flight Engineer)
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 A9186, 148 (No. 461 Squadron Operations Record Book)
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line