LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Herbert John Williams
Service No: 427218
Born: Goomalling WA, 16 August 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 25 May 1942
Unit: No. 467 Squadron, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Died: Air Operations (No. 467 Squadron Lancaster aircraft JB286), North Sea, 8 January 1945, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James Williams, and of Alice Kate Williams, of Mullewa, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 284, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 111, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
On 7th-8th January Nos. 1 and 5 Groups were detailed for the seventh full scale raid against Munich. On this occasion No. 460 sent 18, No. 463 16, and No. 467 11 Lancasters, which, despite spirited opposition from anti-aircraft batteries and fighters, bombed satisfactorily.
Extract from Herington, J. (John) (406545) Air War Over Europe 1944-1945, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1963 – Page 405
Lancaster JB286 took off from RAF Waddington at 1707 hours on the night of 7/8th January 1945 to bomb war industries at Munich, Germany. Bomb load 1 x 4000 lb (pound) (450 kg) bomb, 14 x No14 x 4 lb (2 kg) Clusters. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base. Eleven aircraft from the Squadron took part in the raid and one of these JB286 failed to return. The aircraft crashed at 5238N 0010W on the Eye-Grewland Road, 5 miles north of Peterborough, UK. All the parachutes were missing and it was considered that all the crew had baled out over the sea.
The crew members of JB286 were:
Flight Sergeant Maxwell Bright Bruckner (431195) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant John Danckert Gloury (430372) (Bomb Aimer)
Sergeant Henry William Kirsh (1812555) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flying Officer William Andrew McNamee (426422) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Laurance Julius Saulwick (431186) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Stephanos Servos (434029) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Herbert John Williams (427218) (Navigator)
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