LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Beverley Galbraith JAMES
Service No: 406319
Born: Kalgoorlie WA, 9 July 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 November 1940
Unit: No. 603 Squadron (RAF), Misurata West, Libya
Died: Air Operations: (No. 603 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft V8322), off the Libyan coast, 2 May 1943, Aged 23 years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Bertie and Eliza James, of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Kalgoorlie WA
Remembered: Column 227, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 124, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
Beaufighter V8322 of No 603 Squadron took off at 1835 hours on 2 May 1943 to carry out a convoy patrol in the Mediterranean until dark. The aircraft was seen at 1915 hours in position 32.41N, 15.39E (approximately 30 miles north east of Misurata). The aircraft was not seen again and it failed to return to base. There were enemy aircraft in the vicinity of the convoy at around 1915 hours, and V 8322 may have been shot down. It was later recorded that the missing crew had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of V8322 were:
Flying Officer Mervyn Frederick Scantlebury (120599) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Warrant Officer Beverley Galbraith James (406319) (Observer)
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 A705, 163/126/76