LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Alexander John FRASER
Service No: 430145
Born: East Malvern VIC, 31 March 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 31 December 1942
Unit: No. 32 Operational Training Unit (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 32 Operational Training Unit Beechcraft aircraft HB129), off British Columbia, 19 May 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Alexander John and Ivy Elizabeth Fraser, of East Malvern, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 3, Column 5, Ottawa Memorial, Ontario, Canada
Remembered: Panel 133, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 19 May 1944 Beechcraft HB129 was detailed to carry out a training exercise along the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, from Patricia Bay to Port Harry and return. The last contact with HB129 was when the aircraft was in the Strait of Georgia in position 50.03N 124.30E. HB 129 did not return to base from this exercise, and no trace of the missing aircraft or crew was found.
The crew members of HB129 were:
Sergeant Alexander John Fraser (430145) (Wireless Operator / Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Edward Bousfield Machell (164428) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Pilot Officer Harry Merrill (129346) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
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, 166/14/205