LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer John Edwin HAY
Service No: 412958
Born: North Lakemba NSW, 30 July 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 August 1941
Unit: No. 106 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Syerston
Died: Air Operations: (No. 106 Squadron Lancaster aircraft W4242), Germany, 9 October 1943, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Hanover War Cemetery, Niedersachsen, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George Eric and Dorothy Margaret Hay
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 123, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2310 hours on the night of 8 October 1943 Lancaster W4242 took off from Syerston detailed to bomb Hanover, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was one of eight aircraft from the Squadron taking part in the mission. The aircraft crashed near Lichtenhorst, about 15 miles north of Neustadt, Germany and all the crew members were killed.
The crew members of W4242 were:
Sergeant Roy Eric Burgess (1391096) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Sergeant Edward George Havelock Day (1280658) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Sergeant John Francis Ellins (1360106) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Henry Noble Gustard (1677210) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Pilot Officer John Edwin Hay (412958) (Pilot)
Sergeant Ralph Thomas Gurden Lester (1098112) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer) Aged 18 Years
Sergeant Kenneth Saunders (1577848) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
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, 166/17/336