LEST WE FORGET

Flight Lieutenant Alan Munro McLEOD

From Australia serving in the Royal New Zealand Air Force

Service No: 402202 (RNZAF)
Born: Date, Location unavailable
Enlisted in the RNZAF: Date unavailable
Unit: No. 224 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station St Eval
Died: Air Operations: (No. 224 Squadron Liberator aircraft BZ940), English Channel, 12 June 1944, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John James McLeod and Margaret Jane Lena McLeod, of Mosman, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 262, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK

On 6 November 1942, Flight Lieutenant McLeod survived the loss of Wellington HK507 in which Leading Aircraftman Ian William Batton (18762) was killed.

On 12 June 1944 Liberator BZ940 took off from St Eval to carry out an anti-submarine patrol west of the English Channel. The last message from the aircraft was at 0300 hours when it reported from position 48.20N 005.54W that it was over 2 U boats in the English Channel and attacking. Nothing further was heard from BZ940, and the aircraft did not return to base. The body of one crew member was recovered from the sea off Molene Island west of Brest. No trace of the other missing crew members was found, and they are recorded as having lost their lives at sea.

The crew members of BZ940 were:

Pilot Officer Cyril Chilton Chitty (173584) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air)
Flight Sergeant Leslie Dixon (1238845) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Mechanic, Air Gunner) Remains recovered
Flight Sergeant Kenneth Gordon Edward Graves (1498580) (RAFVR) (Second Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Robert Thomas Green (1628835) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Arthur Jenkins (1311544) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air)
Flight Lieutenant James Elliot Jenkinson (411410) (RNZAF) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Thomas Stephen Jones (425683) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flight Lieutenant Alan Munro McLeod (402202) (RNZAF) (Navigator)
Warrant Officer Francis John Reid (1376394) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air)
Flight Sergeant Laurence Albert Starr (1190559) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air)

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

Bibliography:

Jay, Alwyn, Endurance; Coastal Command Liberator Operations 1941-5, Banner Books, Maryborough QLD, 4650, 1996

Book Now Book Now