LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Neale McKissock THEWLIS
Service No: 418989
Born: Geelong VIC, 8 January 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 20 June 1942
Unit: No. 8 Communication Unit, Madang PNG
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 8 Communication Unit Beaufort aircraft A9-106), New Guinea, 29 January 1945, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Lae War Cemetery, PNG
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Milton and Ethel May Thewlis, of Geelong, Victoria
Roll of Honour: Newtown VIC
Remembered: Panel 112, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 29 January 1945, Beaufort A9-106 went missing on a non-operational flight from Milne Bay to Madang. On board were:
Crew
Flight Sergeant Maxwell James Hewett (437825) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Neale McKissock Thewlis (418989) (Pilot)
Flying Officer John Garvey Thompson (422895) (Navigator B)
Passengers
Sergeant Frank Tranter Burgess (13356) Madang Wireless Telegraph Station
Aircraftman Class 1 William Bertram Luck (149289) No. 7 Transport and Movement Office
Aircraftman Class 1 James Henry Albert Smith (146748) No. 7 Transport and Movement Office
Sergeant John Austin Standing (61752) No. 7 Transport and Movement Office
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, 244
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990