LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Leonard Allan EUNSON
Service No: 410536
Born: Northcote VIC, 18 October 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 30 January 1942
Unit: No. 299 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 299 Squadron Stirling aircraft LJ878), France, 6 August 1944, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Plougoumelen Communal Cemetery, Morbihan, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frederick Charles and Mabel Kate Eunson, of Preston, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Preston VIC
Remembered: Panel 121, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2300 hours on the night of 5 August 1944 Stirling LJ878 took off detailed to fly an operational sortie dropping containers over Western France. The aircraft failed to return and all the crew members were killed.
The crew members of LJ878 were:
Warrant Officer Robert Jack Braddock (416081) (RNZAF) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flight Sergeant Leonard Allan Eunson (410536) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Warrant Officer I Gordon Fletcher Harrison (R/112810) (RCAF) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Alfred Anthony Hull (1588979) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Pilot Officer Walter Nelson Irving (J/87928) (RCAF) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Henare Whakatau Uru (39589) (RNZAF) (Pilot)
After crossing over the enemy coast at 5/6,000 feet, the aircraft was detailed to drop down to a map reading height of approximately 2,000 feet and drop its load at 500 feet. Two other aircraft saw some incident. They were due over the drop zone 29 and 30 minutes respectively before Pilot Officer Uru, but they had to circle for some time because they found no reflector lights. Both Pilots reported seeing each other circling at 0038 on 6 August when Uru was due. Both Pilots saw an aircraft hit by anti-aircraft fire and go down in flames.
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, 166/12/96