LEST WE FORGET
Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Norman REEVE DFC
Service No: 401081
Born: Malvern VIC, 11 July 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 8 December 1940
Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), 14 May 1943 (Citation Title: No. 35 Squadron (RAF))
Unit: No. 1 Operational Training Unit, RAAF East Sale VIC
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 1 Operational Training Unit Beaufort aircraft A9-303), near East Sale, 13 September 1943, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Sale War Cemetery, VIC
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George Norman and Hannah Reeve; husband of Gwenllian Netta Reeve, of Geelong.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 112, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
DFC Citation: “Flight Lieutenant G N Reeve attached to No. 35 Squadron RAF has taken part in many sorties with outstanding enthusiasm, cheerfulness and fine leadership. He has flown on operations against many of the enemy’s most heavily defended targets, often successfully completing his mission in the face of intense opposition.”
During circuit training on 13 September 1943, at 0815 hours Beaufort A9-303 dived almost vertically into swamp land 5 kms south east of the East Sale airfield. The aircraft exploded on impact and both crew members were killed.
The crew members of A9-303 were:
Sergeant Leslie Lloyd Giles (417633) (Second Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Norman Reeve DFC (401081) (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, 252
Bibliography:
Lax, M. (Mark) (editor) Always Ready: a history of RAAF East Sale, RAAF Publications Unit Melbourne VIC, 1993
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990