LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Reginald William PARADISE
Service No: 403951
Born: Leichardt NSW, 27 March 1912
Enlisted in the RAAF: 31 March 1941
Unit: No. 279 Squadron (RAF), RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk
Died: Air Operations: (No. 279 Squadron Hudson aircraft V9031), off the English Coast, 7 January 1943, Aged 30 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Theodore and Eva Catherine Paradise
Roll of Honour: Newcastle NSW
Remembered: Panel 193, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 128, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Hudson V9031 of 279 Squadron was detailed to carry out an Air-Sea Rescue search off the Lizzard. The aircraft took off at 0820 hours on 7 January 1943 from RAF Station St Eval, but nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it did not return to base. Following post war enquiries and investigations, it was recorded in 1948 that the missing crew members had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of V9031 were:
Flight Sergeant William Morris Arnold (416140) (Pilot)
Sergeant Raymond Frank Bannister (553996) (RAF) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Reginald William Paradise (403951) (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant James David Sclater (411945) (RNZAF) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
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, 166/32/6