LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Clarence Colville McLENNAN
Service No: 405021
Born: Armidale NSW, 22 October 1908
Enlisted in the RAAF: 5 January 1941 (at Brisbane QLD)
Unit: No. 5 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit (RAF), RAF Station Chivenor
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 5 Operational Training Unit Beaufort aircraft L9935), near Chivenor, 7 February 1942, Aged 33 Years
Buried: Heanton Punchardon (St Augustine) Churchyard, Devon
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Roderick Hugh and Emily Ethel McLennan, of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Toowoomba QLD
Remembered: Panel 126, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2023 hours on 7 February 1942 Beaufort L9935 crashed one mile east of Chivenor, during a night take off from Chivenor, North Devon and all the crew members were killed. The aircraft was detailed to carry out a night navigation patrol exercise over the sea. A later Court of Inquiry found that the pilot lost flying control soon after take-off causing the aircraft to lose altitude and strike high ground.
The crew members of L9935 were:
Sergeant Norman Battram (1123506) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant George Alexander Blackwood (1121730) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Clarence Colville McLennan (405021) (Observer)
Sergeant Victor Meldrum (1071846) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
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, 163/141/457