LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Irwin Bruce WATSON
Service No: 406416
Born: Claremont WA, 10 June 1908
Enlisted in the RAAF: 9 December 1940
Unit: Base Torpedo Unit, Nowra NSW
Died: Aircraft Accident (Base Torpedo Unit Beaufort aircraft A9-115), Nowra, 25 May 1943, Aged 34 Years
Buried: Nowra War Cemetery, NSW
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Sydney and Louise Matilda Watson; husband of Olga Jean Watson, of South Perth, Western Australia. A.I.C.A., A.A.I.S.
Roll of Honour: Nedlands WA
Remembered: Panel 111, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
At 1010 hours on 25 May 1943 while undertaking evasive action during a torpedo training exercise, Base Torpedo Unit Beaufort A9-115 crashed into the sea about 16 kms offshore between Beecroft and St George’s Head. The probable cause of the accident is recorded as an “error of judgement”. The crew members were:
Sergeant James Evans (406833) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant Geoffrey Walter Parker (415439) (Pilot)
Sergeant John Perron (406869) (Wireless Air Gunner) Dangerously Injured, Discharged from RAAF: 24 October 1945
Warrant Officer Irwin Bruce Watson (406416) (Observer)
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; A9301, 406416
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990