LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Wallace THOMPSON
Service No: 436136
Born: Concord NSW, 5 June 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 November 1942 (at Perth WA)
Unit: No. 1667 Conversion Unit (RAF), RAF Sandtoft, Lincolnshire
Died: Aircraft Accident (No 1667 Conversion Unit Halifax aircraft EB192), Nottinghamshire, 12 August 1944, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Yorkshire UK
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Robert and Rose Thompson, of Concord, New South Wales, Australia.
Roll of Honour: Concord NSW
Remembered: Panel 131, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
On the 12th August 1944, Halifax EB192 took off from RAF Sandtoft at 0133 hours, detailed to carry out a night bombing exercise on the Mission range. While banking to starboard, in cloud, the pilot lost control and crashed at 0153 hours onto high ground at Winston Park, North Bawtry, on the border between Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. All the crew were killed.
A Court of inquiry into the accident stated;” The Pilot (Pilot Officer Wells) called up the Bombing
range on radio requesting permission to bomb at 2,000 feet from which it was presumed the aircraft was not in cloud and could see the range. On being instructed to climb to 2,200 feet, he must have climbed and found himself in cloud and unable to see the range. Thereupon he descended and it was a very dark night and drizzling with rain. Wells could not have concentrated on his instruments and being away from the range by some three miles, saw no lights on the ground to warn him that the ground was near. The aircraft was making a right hand turn when it crashed at Winston.” It was the opinion of the Court that “night bombing under poor weather conditions should not be permitted under 3,000 feet and the Bombing Range controller should have ordered the aircraft to return to base.”
The crew members of EB192 were:
Flight Sergeant Kevin Kenny Abrams (432081) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Ernest Heath (1590875) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Alfred Gordon Monnington (1667930) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Allan Benjamin Talbot (417674) (Air Bomber)
Flight Sergeant Wallace Thompson (436136) (Navigator)
Sergeant Alexander Steedman Watt (1824374) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Pilot Officer William Wells (177936) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/39/340