LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Cyril William KNOX DFC
Service No: 22170
Born: Murgon QLD, 31 August 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 April 1940
Unit: No. 156 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Warboys
Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), 16 November 1943
Died: Air Operations: (No. 156 Squadron Lancaster aircraft JA674), Germany, 20 December 1943, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Hanover War Cemetery, Niedersachsen, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Alexander Knox and Nellie Emma Knox, of Kilkivan, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
DFC Citation: During the whole of his operational career, Warrant Officer Knox has displayed outstanding coolness and determination. When returning from a sortie against Nuremberg in August 1943, a fire started in the bomb bay of the aircraft in which he was flying as flight engineer and it was only by his very prompt action that it was immediately under control. Many of his other missions have been attacks on localities such as Berlin, Essen and Hamburg where the fiercest opposition is encountered, and during all these sorties, he has invariably displayed the highest degree of gallantry and devotion to duty. (London Gazette 16 November 1943, page 5026)
At 1715 hours on the night of 20 December 1943 Lancaster JA674 took off from RAF Warboys detailed to bomb Frankfurt, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was lost and all the crew members were killed.
The crew members of JA674 were:
Warrant Officer William Liness Charles Hickling DFC (400433) (Rear Gunner)
Warrant Officer Cyril William Knox DFC (22170) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Lieutenant George Bruce Loder DFC (412160) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant George Edward Mason DFM (1007560) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Pilot Officer Eric Whitby Ritchie DFC (412189) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant Michael Acton Sullivan DFC (414697) (RNZAF) (Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant Rex Henry Wedd DFC (408200) (Air Bomber)
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, 166/23/33