LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer James Morgan HARRIS
Service No: 412534
Born: Bathurst NSW, 12 July 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 19 July 1941
Unit: No. 234 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Bentwaters, Suffolk
Died: Air Operations: (No. 234 Squadron Mustang aircraft FB115), Belgium, 7 February 1945, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Heverlee War Cemetery, Belgium
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Arthur Carrington Harris and Elizabeth Catherine Harris, of Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Bathurst NSW
Remembered: Panel 123, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 7 February 1945 Mustang FB115 took off from Bentwaters on an operational day mission. The Wing ran into some very bad weather and the Squadron was split up. Harris was flying as Blue 4 in close formation in cloud. At 25,000 feet, the Flight Section Leader’s instruments became unserviceable and Blue 3 tried to take over. By then conditions had become extremely bad, and the Section split up. Blue 4 flown by Harris was last seen turning away, and was not heard of on the radio and failed to return to base. The aircraft crashed in Belgium and Warrant Officer Harris was killed.
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, 166/17/996