LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Thomas William PAGE
Service No: 26228
Born: Port Lincoln SA, 29 June 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 April 1940
Unit: No. 50 Squadron (RAF), RAF Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire
Died: Air Operations (No. 50 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ED712), Germany, 25 June 1943, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Rheinberg War Cemetery, Kamp Lintfort, Nordrhein-Westfal, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Thomas Robert and Eliza Maud Page, of Port Lincoln, South Australia
Roll of Honour: Port Lincoln SA
Remembered: Panel 128, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
Lancaster ED712 took off from RAF Skellingthorpe at 2305 hours on the night of 24/25th June 1943 detailed to bomb Wuppertal, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. A Missing Research & Enquiry Team report stated “the aircraft crashed and exploded on impact in a field near the village of Houverath, which is about 45 kms south of
Cologne, Germany.” All of the crew members were killed.
The crew members of ED712 were:
Flight Sergeant John Alexander Brock (409287) (Pilot)
Sergeant Reginald Harry Cookson (658137) (RAF) (Navigator)
Sergeant Thomas William Page (26228) (Flight Engineer)
Warrant Officer II William Pearson (R/123129) (RCAF) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Sergeant Leonard Lawrence Seal (658294) (RAF) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Bernard Veall (1079916) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Thomas Gerald Wilkinson (1123748) (RAFVR) (Rear 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, 166/32/134