LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer William Walker PARKER
Service No: 415045
Born: Glasgow Scotland, 31 March 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 23 June 1941 (at Perth WA)
Unit: No. 15 Squadron, Madang, New Guinea
Died: Air Operations (No. 15 Squadron Beaufort aircraft A9-518), New Guinea, 25 March 1945, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Lae War Cemetery, PNG
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James and Janet Todd Parker, of Victoria Park, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Perth WA
Remembered: Panel 101, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
Remembered: Honour Board, Postmaster General’s Department, GPO Forrest Chase, Perth WA
Beaufort aircraft A9-518 went missing on operations from Madang over the Sepik area on 25 March 1945. Post War, the aircraft was found crashed in a mangrove swamp south of Mendam. The aircraft had exploded on impact and all five crew members had been killed.
The crew members of A9-518 were:
Lieutenant Colonel Alan Binnie (NX12184) (Australian Army) (HQ 2 Air Liaison Group)
Warrant Officer James Alexander Chapman (410544) (Observer)
Warrant Officer Ronald Eardley Douch (412499) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Keith Gillan (401749) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flying Officer William Walker Parker (415045) (Pilot)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9845, 260
Bibliography:
Baker, N. (Nicola) More Than Little Heroes: Australian Army Air Liaison Officers in WWII, Australian National University Canberra ACT 2600, 1994
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990