LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Kenneth Barry KEMMIS
Service No: 409806
Born: Queensland, 5 May 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 October 1941 (at Melbourne VIC)
Unit: No. 186 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Ford
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 186 Squadron Spitfire aircraft P8751), English Channel, 14 March 1944, Aged 20 Years
Buried: St Pierre en Port Communal Cemetery, Seine-Maritime, France
CWGC Additional Information: No additional information
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 0157 hours on 14 March 1944 Flight Sergeant Kemmis in Spitfire P8751 took off from Ford detailed to carry out local night flying. The weather was good but P8751 failed to return to base. Several messages were received from Flight Sergeant Kemmis, but when he was called at 0316 hours and again at 0329 hours there was no reply. A Missing Research and Enquiry team later reported: “The body of Flight Sergeant Kemmis was recovered from the sea by the French on 29 June 1944.”
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, 166/22/208