LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant John William KEALY
Service No: 415995
Born: Yarloop WA, 17 January 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 26 April 1942
Unit: No. 90 Squadron (RAF), RAF Wratting Common, Cambridgeshire
Died: Air Operations: (No. 90 Squadron Stirling aircraft BK723), North Sea, 3 October 1943, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Edward and Alice Mary Kealy, of Harvey, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Perth WA
Remembered: Panel 193, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
Stirling BK723 took off from RAF Station Wratting Common at 1840 hours on 3 October 1943, to attack Kassel, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft until 2030 hours when the aircraft reported that an engine was unserviceable and it was ditching in the North Sea. The message was brief and it was not possible to get a fix. Air-Sea Rescue searches were carried out but no trace of the missing aircraft or crew could be found. Following post war enquiries and investigations, it was recorded in 1949 that the missing crew had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of BK723 were:
Sergeant William Bell (1038441) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant William Trevor Guy (417364) (Rear Gunner)
Flight Sergeant John William Kealy (415995) (Upper Gunner)
Sergeant Donald Harvey McKitterick (R/156063) (RCAF) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Eric Kenneth Leeves (1870018) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Yves De Meillac (1397457) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Sergeant Kenneth Gordon Taylor (1238522) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
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, 166/22/125