LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer John Eric GAY
Service No: 434085
Born: Casino NSW, 3 July 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 9 October 1942
Unit: No. 32 Squadron, Lowood QLD
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 32 Squadron Beaufort aircraft A9-476), Bundaberg, 21 April 1944, Aged 26 Years
Buried: Bundaberg General Cemetery, QLD
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Matthew William and Annetta Ritchie Gay, of Islington
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 103, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Duration formation flying on 21 April 1944, No. 32 Squadron Beaufort aircraft A9-436 and A9-476 had a mid- air collision 20 km west of Bundaberg and all eight crew members from both aircraft were killed.
The crew members of A9-476 were:
Flight Sergeant Ian James Dixon (423672) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Flying Officer John Eric Gay (434085) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Milton Charles Hardy (422177) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Ignatius William Willcocks (419425) (Navigator)
The crew members of A9-436 were:
Flight Sergeant Richard MacDougall Garland (412584) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer James Ian McKechnie (416312) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Irwin Harold Smead (419228) (Navigator)
Pilot Officer John Bertram Steed (425371) (Pilot)
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 A9845, 176
Bibliography:
Graham, B. (Burton) and Frank Smyth, A Nation Grew Wings: The Story of the RAAF Beaufort Squadrons in New Guinea, Winterset House Publishers Melbourne VIC, 1946
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990