LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer John Robert SHEPLEY
Service No: 434808
Born: Brisbane QLD, 10 November 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 29 January 1943
Unit: No. 578 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Burn
Died: Air Operations: (No. 578 Squadron Halifax aircraft NA670), Germany, 21 February 1945, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Rheinberg War Cemetery, Kamp Lintfort, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George and Martha Jane Shepley, of Norman Park, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1643 hours on the night of 21 February 1945, Halifax NA670 took off from Burn detailed to bomb Worms, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. While approaching the aiming point Halifax NA679 came under attack from a JU88 which is believed to have been damaged in the exchange of fire. Both NA670’s port engines were set ablaze and the order to bale out was given. Before the crew could react, a second attack developed which resulted in the Halifax breaking up. The bulk of the wreckage fell on to the banks of the Isenach at Hardenburg, 3kms from Bad Durkeim. Six of the crew members were killed and one taken prisoner.
The crew members of NA670 were:
Flight Sergeant Denis George Baxter (1850413) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flying Officer Richard John Ingham (157307) (RAF) (Pilot)
Flying Officer D R McLean (RAF) (Air Bomber) PoW
Pilot Officer John Robert Shepley (434808) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flight Sergeant Neville Watson (1430420) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Donald George Weaver (1624124) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Sidney Albert Wellstead (1601851) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air 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 Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9300, SHEPLEY J R