LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Bertie George RUSSON
Service No: 317
Born: Townsville QLD, November 1885
Enlisted in the Army: 16 October 1915
Unit: No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (attached to No. 21 Training Squadron RFC)
Died: Injuries from an Aircraft Accident (No. 1 Squadron Shorthorn aircraft A2521), Egypt, 25 October 1917, Aged 31 Years
Buried: Ismailia War Memorial Cemetery, Ismailia, Suez Canal, Egypt
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George and Sarah Russon, of Grenier St., Toowoomba, Queensland. Born at Townsville, North Queensland
Place of Association: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 187, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Sergeant Russon held the rank of Cadet while undergoing flying training.
On 25 October 1917, Sergeant Russon was killed in flying training accident flying Maurice Farman Shorthorn aircraft A2521. The Court of Enquiry convened at Moascar by No 21 Training Squadron RFC found that Sergeant Russon “met his death as the direct result of an aeroplane accident caused by an error of judgment which forced the pilot to attempt a dangerous manoeuvre even for a pilot of considerable experience”. No blame could be attributed to Sergeant Russon and he was on duty at the time.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record B2455, RUSSON BERTIE GEORGE
Bibliography:
Lax, M. (Mark) (editor) One Man’s War: Aircraft Mechanic Joe Bull’s Personal diaries 1916-9, Banner Books, Maryborough QLD 4650, 1997
Roberts, E.G. (Eric Glendower) (250197) Box Kites and Beyond, The Hawthorn Press Melbourne VIC 3000, 1976
Sutherland, L. W. (Leslie) Aces and Kings, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1935
Williams, Sir R. (Richard) (1) These are Facts: the Autobiography of Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams KBE, CB, DSO, Australian War Memorial and Australian Government Publishing Service, 1977 – Chapters 3-9