LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant John De Medici NELSON
Service No: 401716
Born: Castlemaine VIC, 26 June 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 28 March 1941
Unit: Ferry Command (RAF)
Died: Injuries from an Aircraft Accident (loss of Ferry Command Wellington aircraft HX603 on 15 August 1942), Sierra Leone, 16 August 1942, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Freetown (King Tom) Cemetery, Sierra Leone
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John De Medici and Ina Elsie Nelson, of Red Cliffs, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Red Cliffs VIC
Remembered: Panel 127, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At about 1100 hours on 15 August 1942, Wellington HX603 crashed on take-off from RAF Station Hastings, Sierra Leone. The undercarriage prematurely retracted and the aircraft skidded on its belly into trees and caught fire killing one and fatally injuring another three crew members.
The crew members of HX603 were:
Sergeant F Browning (RCAF) Slightly injured
Flight Sergeant James Warren Cullen (R/76459) (RCAF) (Pilot) Fatally injured, Died: 16 August 1942
Sergeant Geoffrey Hugh Lawrence (1318204) (RAFVR) (Observer) Fatally injured, Died: 15 August 1942
Sergeant John De Medici Nelson (401716) (Wireless Air Gunner) Fatally injured, Died: 16 August 1942
Flight Sergeant George Bruce Simpson (R/95418) (RCAF)
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, 163/147/267