LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Edward John O’CONNELL
Service No: 423858
Born: Cowra NSW, 12 May 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 18 July 1942
Unit: No. 2 Operational Training Unit
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 2 Operational Training Unit Wirraway aircraft A20-613), near Wentworth NSW, 25 October 1944, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Mildura Public Cemetery, Victoria
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Walter Dennis and Sybil Isobel O’Connell, of Cowra, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Cowra NSW
Remembered: Panel 112, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cowra World War 2 and Korea Memorial Roll of Honour, Cowra NSW
At 1525 hours on 25 October 1944, Wirraway A20-613 crashed one mile south west of the Wentworth landing strip, and the two on board were killed. During acrobatics at 3,000 feet the aircraft went into a spin and crashed.
The crew members of A20-613 were:
Pilot Officer John Geoffrey Norman Gadsden (418828) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Edward John O’Connell (423858) (Pilot under instruction)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/31/95; A9845, 198
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line