LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant James Cornelius O’NEILL
Service No: 402604
Born: Quirindi NSW, 8 February 1914
Enlisted in the RAAF: 16 September 1940
Unit: No. 50 Squadron (RAF), RAF Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire
Died: Air Operations: (No. 50 Squadron Lancaster aircraft W4382), North West Europe, 18 December 1942, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James and Ruby Miriam O’Neill, of Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia; husband of Muriel Daphne O’Neill, of Newcastle, New South Wales.
Roll of Honour: Quirindi NSW
Remembered: Panel 113, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 128, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Quirindi Town Clock and War Memorial, Quirindi NSW
Lancaster W4382 of No. 50 Squadron took off from RAF Station Skellingthorpe at 1705 hours on the night of 17 December 1942 to attack a target at Soltau, Germany. Post war investigations and enquiries failed to reveal any trace of the missing aircraft or crew, and in 1950 it was recorded that the crew had lost their lives with no known grave.
The crew members of W4382 were:
Flight Lieutenant John Charles Atkinson (120725) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Sergeant Francis Martin (951050) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant James Cornelius O’Neill (402604) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant John Mason Reilly (702772) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Percy William Rowling (401287) (Navigator)
Pilot Officer Henry William Joseph Smith DFM (404622) (Air Bomber)
Flying Officer Charles William Walker (407956) (Air Gunner)
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, 163/148/340
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line