LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Rae GROOM
Service No: 408144
Born: Penguin TAS, 13 July 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 3 January 1941
Unit: No. 25 Operational Training Unit (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 25 Operational Training Unit Wellington aircraft DV841), County Durham, 21 May 1942, Aged 26 Years
Buried: Darlington West Cemetery, Durham
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Francis Arthur and Mabel Groom, of Sulphur Creek, Tasmania, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 123, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the 21st May 1942, Wellington DV841 took off from RAF Finningley, for a navigation training exercise. The aircraft crashed at 1755 hours at Emma Pits Road on West Paddy Moor, a mile north west of Crook in County Durham It had been on a cross country to the Isle of Man and was returning via York. The aircraft was seen to spin in by the Observer Corps after travelling straight and level at about 8,000 feet. Other witnesses stated that smoke was pouring from one of its engines. All the crew members were killed in the crash.
The crew members of DV841 were:
Flight Sergeant Robert Melbourne Boates (R/76299) (RCAF) (Air Gunner, under Training)
Sergeant Rae Groom (408144) (Second Pilot, under Training)
Flight Sergeant William Neil Reeves (R/86394) (RCAF) (Observer, under Training)
Flight Sergeant Angus Frederick Roberts (R/74926) (RCAF) (Air Gunner, under Training)
Sergeant Rambler David Roberts (407833) (Pilot, under Training)
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 A9301, 408144