LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Douglas William THOMAS
Service No: 285135
Born: 10 November 1919, Location Unavailable
Enlisted in the RAAF: Date Unavailable
Unit: No. 6 Operational Training Unit, Jervis Bay, NSW
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 6 Operational Training Unit Beaufort aircraft A9-194), St Georges Basin NSW, 17 January 1944, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Nowra War Cemetery, NSW
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Ernest William and Elsie Thomas, of Colonel Light Gardens, South Australia.
Roll of Honour: Adelaide SA
Remembered: Panel 113, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
On 17 January 1944, Bristol Beaufort A9-194 crashed at St George’s Basin, near Nowra NSW, killing all on board. The aircraft was making a landing approach when banked into a steep turn, its nose dropped, following which power was applied, but the aircraft dived and exploded on impact.
The crew members of A9-194 were:
Flight Sergeant Frank Harold Appeldore (416480) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant John Frederick Francis Doepel (412925) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Lloyd George Freeman (408647) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant John Francis Cokayne Frith (427082) (Observer)
Flying Officer Douglas William Thomas (285135) (Observer Instructor)
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, 247
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990