LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Anthony Murray Le GRAND
Service No: 419319
Born: Maffra VIC, 23 February 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 18 July 1942
Unit: No. 466 Squadron, RAF Station Leconfield, Yorkshire
Died: Air Operations: (No. 466 Squadron Halifax aircraft HX236), Germany, 20 December 1943, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Rheinberg War Cemetery, Kamp Lintfort, Nordrhein-Westfal, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Timothy Edward and Evelyn Frances Le Grand, of Sale. Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Sale VIC
Remembered: Panel 110, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Date: 20-21 December 1943
Target: Frankfurt-on-Main
Total Force: Dispatched – 650, Attacking – 576
RAAF Force: No. 460 Dispatched – 16, Attacking – 16; No. 463 Dispatched – 9, Attacking – 7; No. 466 Dispatched – 16, Attacking – 14; No. 467 Dispatched – 14, Attacking – 12
Tons of Bombs Dropped: 2,070
Total Aircraft Lost: 40
RAAF Aircraft Lost: No. 466 – 2
The costly raid of 20th-21st December, which marked the reappearance on operations of No. 466 Squadron, achieved little. Cloud was only scattered and marking of the target began well but was poorly supported by the backers-up. Many main force bombers were deceived by enemy-laid dummy target indicators, and most of the night photographs taken by R.A.A.F. crews revealed fire tracks and cloud only. Nearly all the bombs fell outside Frankfurt-on-Main to the south-east while Marsh of No. 460 reported fires ten to fifteen miles short of the target. For this negligible result the bombers had to run the gauntlet of fierce fighter opposition, five R.A.A.F. aircraft being actively engaged by the enemy. Flying Officer Marsha1l (1) of No. 467 had his Lancaster damaged by an Me-210 and then further damaged by an Me-109 and ground batteries but still managed to coax the aircraft along the difficult return journey to England .
(1) Flight Lieutenant Walter David Marshall, DFC (412821) Discharged from the RAAF: 11 April 1946
Extracts from Herington, J. (John) (406545) Air War Against Germany and Italy 1939-1943, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1954 – Page 651
Halifax HX236 took off from RAF Leconfield at 1703 hours on the night of 20/21st December 1943 to bomb Frankfurt, Germany. The bomb load was 1 x 2000 lb (900 kg), 9 SBC’s 90 x 4 lb (2 kg) and 4 SBCs 8 x 30lb (14 kg). Following post war enquiries it was believed that the aircraft crashed in the vicinity of Weisbaden, Germany. All the crew had been killed and they are buried in the Rheinberg War Cemetery.
The crew members of HX236 were:
Flight Sergeant William Ferris (1376974) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Sergeant Reginald Thomas Henry Headford (1321178) (RAFVR) (Bomb Aimer)
Flight Sergeant Anthony Murray Le Grand (419319) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flying Officer Robert Henry Herbert Lunnis (52039) (RAF) (Rear Gunner)
Flight Sergeant James Richard George Matthews (1287638) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air)
Flying Officer John Scales (120525) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Sergeant Thomas Glyn Townson (1804594) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
No. 466 Squadron lost Halifax HZ273 (Flight Sergeant Patrick John Edwards (413748) (Pilot)) on 20 December 1943.
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, 166/24/246