LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant John LAWTON
Service No: 414705
Born: Brisbane QLD, 9 January 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 8 November 1941
Unit: No 70 Squadron (RAF), Cerignola, Italy
Died: Air Operations: (No. 70 Squadron Wellington aircraft HE343), Italy, 2 May 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John and Dorothy Lawton, of Corinda, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 16, Column 2, Malta Memorial, Malta
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Flight Sergeant Lawton, flying Wellington aircraft HE343, was reported missing on a sortie against Allesandria, Italy, on 2 May 1944. Details of other crew members are not recorded in the NAA records, but the following No. 70 Squadron members are recorded as casualties on 2 May 1944:
Flight Sergeant Ronald Frederick Bickford (1585102) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Sergeant Norman Edward Fay (1338705) (RAFVR)
Sergeant John Rickerby Johnston (1623800) (RAFVR)
Flight Sergeant John Lawton (414705) (Pilot)
The presumed fifth crew member is yet to be identified and may not have been a fatality
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9301, 414705