LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer Walter Henry ROSE DFC
Service No: 405605
Born: Cloncurry QLD, 31 December 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 26 April 1941
Unit: No. 156 Squadron (RAF), RAF Warboys, Cambridgeshire
Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), 19 October 1943 (Citation Title No. 156 Squadron RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 156 Squadron Lancaster aircraft JB223), Germany, 23 November 1943, Aged 22Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Walter Angus and Bridget Mary Rose, of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia.
Roll of Honour: Cloncurry QLD
Remembered: Panel 191, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey
Remembered: Panel 129, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
DFC Citation: Warrant Officer Rose came to 156 Squadron with a high reputation as an operational pilot which has since been enhanced by the skill and determination with which he has pressed home his attack on varied targets in Germany, Italy and occupied territory. He has set a high example by his gallantry and tenacity of purpose.
Lancaster JB223 of 156 Squadron took off from RAF Station Warboys at 1736 hours on the night of 23/24th November 1943 to attack Berlin. Nothing further was heard from the aircraft take off and it did not return to base. Following post war investigations, it was established in 1948 that the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire, exploded in the air and crashed at Konradshore, approximately 8 miles north west of Berlin. The nature of the explosion was such that wreckage was scattered over a wide area, a large portion from the front of the fuselage falling into Havel Lake.
The crew members of JB223 were:
Pilot Officer William Anderson (156592) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Lieutenant Charles Vincent Harvey DFC (105183) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant Francis Peter King (1246101) (RAFVR) (‘Y’ (Radar) Operator)
Flying Officer Robert Haynes MacDonald (406458) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flying Officer Ernest Raymond Mitchell DFM (142506) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator)
Pilot Officer Maxwell Morley Patrick DFC (412028) (Bomb Aimer)
Pilot Officer Walter Henry Rose DFC (405605) (Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant Herbert William Joseph Stewart DFC (J/15536) (RCAF) (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, 166/36/149