LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Herbert James Ewart WALSH
Service No: 421479
Born: Bellingen NSW, 28 July 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 1 February 1923
Unit: No. 84 Squadron
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 84 Squadron Kittyhawk aircraft A29-522), west of Horn Island QLD, 10 March 1944, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Daniel James Walsh and Elsie May Walsh, of Coonamble, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 6, Sydney Memorial, Rookwood NSW
Remembered: Panel 104, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 9 March 1944, No. 84 Squadron proceeded on a non-operational travel flight from Horn Island to Livingstone, in the Northern Territory, but had to turn back on account of the bad weather. On 10 March 1944, the Squadron set out for Gove escorted by a No. 7 Squadron Beaufort. Although the weather report gave a cloud base of 1500 feet, the formation ran into s front 30 miles west of base. The front was skirted until approximately 180 miles from Horn Island. The Beaufort had changed course to go through lighter patches and for a while the Kittyhawks followed. When it appeared that the visibility would be zero, the Squadron Commander ordered the squadron to return to base. The formation turned through 180 degrees and reformed on the escort aircraft. On reforming it was found that A29-522 flown by Flight Sergeant Walsh was missing. After the Beaufort refuelled, it returned to the position where the aircraft had turned back and searched. HMAS Fremantle and a Catalina aircraft from Cairns also searched the next day with no success.
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, 166/43/554; A9845, 160