LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant John Franklin JAMES
Service No: 404104
Born: Brisbane QLD, 13 February 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 24 May 1940
Unit: No. 102 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Topcliffe
Died: Air Operations: (No. 102 Squadron Whitley aircraft Z6489), Netherlands, 13 June 1941, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Eindhoven (Woensal) General Cemetery, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Edwin Alfred and Ellen Louise James, of Morningside, Queensland, Australia. A.F.I.A.
Roll of Honour: Morningside QLD
Remembered: Panel 124, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2306 hours on the night of 12 June 1941 Whitley Z6489 took off from Topcliffe detailed to bomb Schwerte, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was shot down by a night fighter and it crashed at 0318 hours onto land belonging to Mr Akkers at Waalrte (Noord Brabant), 7 kms south west of Eindhoven, Netherlands.
All the crew members were killed.
The crew members of Z6489 were:
Sergeant John Chapman (1151802) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Raymond Woodrow Dawson (87361) (RAFVR) (Observer)
Sergeant James Hall (552714) (RAF) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant John Franklin James (404104) (Pilot)
Sergeant John Matthew Bailey Tunnah (981759) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Kenneth Ridd Winter (977342) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
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, 163/126/46