LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant John Mervyn LEFROY
Service No: 406145
Born: Carnarvon WA, 8 October 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 August 1940
Unit: No. 24 Squadron SAAF (South African Air Force), Landing Ground 99, Egypt
Died: Air Operations: (No. 24 Squadron Boston aircraft Z2176), Middle East, 29 May 1942, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Roydon Gerald and Lelia Maria Lefroy; grandson of Mrs. E. M. Locke.
Roll of Honour: Carnarvon WA
Remembered: Column 266, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 134, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
Boston Z2176 of No. 24 Squadron was detailed to bomb the Derna Harbour, Libya, on 29 May 1942. Heavy anti-aircraft fire was experienced on this mission and the aircraft failed to return to base. It was recorded in 1948 that the missing crew had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of Boston Z2176 were:
Sergeant Eric Desmond King (SAAF) (211202) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant John Mervyn Lefroy (406145) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Lieutenant Leslie Henry Murrow (103453V) (SAAF) (Pilot)
Lieutenant Edward French Wakeling (102223) (SAAF) (Observer)
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, 163/137/161