LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Milton Lloyd WILLIAMS
Service No: 423437
Born: Ashfield NSW, 27 June 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 29 January 1942
Unit: No. 567 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Hornchurch
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 567 Squadron Hurricane aircraft LF584), Essex, 1 December 1944, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Henry James Williams and Elsie May Williams, of Haberfield, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Haberfield NSW
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the 1 December 1944, Hurricane LF584 took off from Hornchurch detailed to carry out a non-operational anti-aircraft cooperation exercise. The aircraft was airborne approximately 35 to 40 minutes when it crashed at 1206 hours at Marley Farm and Flight Sergeant Williams was killed.
In a report into the accident, the Commanding Officer of No. 567 Squadron stated: “the aircraft was airborne approximately 35 to 40 minutes when it struck the top of a 600 foot hill at a flat angle, and in such a manner as to cause it to break up and be almost completely destroyed in the ensuing fire.
The visibility at the time was poor. The aircraft should have reached the cooperation course after flying for a period of about 15 minutes, but the machine was not sighted by the cooperation unit, so that there is a discrepancy of some 20/25 minutes flying time, although the aircraft crashed on a direct line from the point of take off to the cooperation course.”
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, 166/43/1005