LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant James McKenzie SIMPSON
Service No: 402026
Born: Newcastle NSW, 3 November 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 28 April 1940
Unit: No. 69 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 69 Squadron Maryland aircraft 729), central Mediterranean, 15 July 1941, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Robert and Elizabeth Gertrude Simpson, of North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 2, Column 2, Malta Memorial, Malta
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 15 July 1941 Maryland 729 left Luqa to carry out a photo reconnaissance over Tripoli and the North African coast. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it did not return to base. In 1948 it was recorded that the missing crew members had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of Maryland 729 were:
Sergeant Cyril Francis Lee (404019) (Pilot)
Sergeant Jack Carson Grayson Neill (404036) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant James McKenzie Simpson (402026) (Observer)
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 A705, 163/162/201