LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Douglas Henry LEE
Service No: 400756
Born: Echuca VIC, 31 July 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 13 October 1940
Unit: No. 104 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 104 Squadron Wellington aircraft W5478), El Alamein area, 29 October 1942, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Henry George and Annie Nicolas Lee, of Echuca, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Echuca VIC
Remembered: Column 266, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the night of 29 October 1942 Wellington W5478 took off from Kabrit detailed to carry out attacks on troop concentrations in the battle area. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off, and it did not return to base. W5478 is believed to have collided with Albacore T9136 and crashed in the battle area. Following post war investigations and enquiries when no trace of the missing aircraft or crew could be found, it was recorded in 1948 that the missing crew members had no known graves.
The crew members of W5478 were:
Sergeant Bertram Arthur Beeney (653383) (RAF) (Air Gunner)
Warrant Officer II William David McLaren Embree (R/76211) (RCAF) (Second Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Albert Roy George Hart (405039) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Douglas Henry Lee (400756) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer John Sinclair Martin (115649) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Sergeant Vivian Redvers Spear (1068594) (RAFVR) (Observer)
The crew members of Albacore T9136 were
Lieutenant Peter Manders (RN) (Pilot) Baled out, PoW
Leading Airman Alexander McBride (JX 226976) (RN)
Sub-Lieutenant Wesley Wilfred Taber (RNVR)
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
Gunby D (David) and Pelham Temple, Royal Air Force Bomber Losses in the Middle East and Mediterranean, Volume 1 1939-1942, Midland Publishing UK, 2006
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/137/230