LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Murray Ralph KLEISDORFF
Service No: 407695
Born: Adelaide SA, 23 June 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 December 1940
Unit: No. 405 Squadron (RCAF), RAF Station Pocklington, Yorkshire
Died: Air Operations (No. 405 Squadron Halifax aircraft W1175), North Sea, 27 June 1942, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Harlingen General Cemetery, Friesland, Netherlands
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Ralf and Lillian Emma Kleisdorff, of Adelaide, South Australia.
Roll of Honour: Burnside SA
Remembered: Panel 133, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
At 2332 hours on 27 June 1942, Halifax W1175 took off from Pocklington detailed to bomb Bremen, Germany. The aircraft failed to return and it was presumed that the aircraft was lost over the sea as all but Flight Sergeant Kleisdorff are remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
The crew members of W1175 were:
Flight Sergeant John Drew Ailey (R/68523) (RCAF) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Ronald Frank Ansell (1213401) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Alan Danby (1065468) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant William Ewart Nixon Field (R/56351) (RCAF) (Pilot)
Warrant Officer II Rowan Charles Fitzgerald (R/69615) (RCAF) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant Murray Ralph Kleisdorff (407695) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Eric Omar Smith (1169531) (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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/132/155