LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Robert Meath HAMMOND
Service No: 415870
Born: Carnarvon WA, 24 May 1913
Enlisted in the RAAF: 1 March 1942
Unit: No. 1 Operational Training Unit, RAAF Station East Sale VIC
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 1 Operational Training Unit Beaufort aircraft A9-143), Paynesville VIC, 30 July 1945, Aged 32 Years
Buried: Sale War Cemetery, VIC
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Cecil Henry and Ruby Hilda Hammond; husband of Laurel Edith Hammond, of Perth, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Perth WA
Remembered: Panel 112, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
When Beaufort A9-143 crashed on Waddy Island about three and a half miles south-east of Paynesville, it was the fifth aircraft accident for No I OTU in July 1945. The crew of three were killed instantly on impact.
Extract from Lax, M. (Mark) (editor) Always Ready: a history of RAAF East Sale, RAAF Publications Unit Melbourne VIC, 1993 – Page 143
During an authorised low-flying non-operational exercise, A9-143 struck the ground in a nose-down attitude during a steep turn. The crew members of A9-143 were:
Flying Officer Melville Maxwell Castle (424966) (Pilot under instruction)
Flying Officer Robert Meath Hammond (415870) (Instructor Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Stanley Trevor Lloyd (431375) (Wireless Operator)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9845, 245
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990