2 RAAF Squadron's Lockheed Hudson II bomber, with an aircrew of four and with six passengers on board, took off from Melbourne flying to Canberra for a government Cabinet Meeting. The aircraft is believed to have stalled on its landing approach at the RAAF Canberra aerodrome when it was at too low an altitude for a successful recovery. The Hudson crashed about 2 miles east of the airfield, taking the lives of the ten people—four aircrew, six passengers--on board.
The four Royal Australian Air Force aircrew who perished in this crash were-
RAAF Aircraftman 1st Class Charles Joseph Crosdale ,
RAAF Corporal John Frederick Palmer ,
RAAF Pilot Officer Richard Frederick Wiesener and
RAAF Flight Lieutenant Robert Edward Hitchcock .
The six passengers on this Lockheed Hudson II aircraft who perished were-
Brigadier Geoffrey Austin STREET, Minister for the Army and Repatriation,
James Valentine FAIRBAIRN, Minister for Air and Civil Aviation,
Sir Henry Somer GULLETT, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister in charge of Scientific and Industrial Research,
General Sir Cyril Brudenell Bingham WHITE, Chief of the General Staff,
Lieutenant Colonel Francis THORNTHWAITE, Staff Officer to General White and
Richard Edwin ELFORD.
Military Service-
Rank: Flight Lieutenant
Service Number: 115
Service: Royal Australian Air Force
Division: 2 RAAF Squadron; RAAF Williams (Point Cook/Laverton)
(MOTTO: Consilio et manu ['To Advise and to Strike'])
Son of Henry Wyman Smith Hitchcock and Violet Elizabeth Hitchcock; husband of Olive Blanche Hitchcock of East St. Kilda, Australia.
Photo - 15 August 1940 - State Funeral passing along St. Kilda Road for six passengers and two of the crew killed in the crash
The four Royal Australian Air Force aircrew who perished in this crash were-
RAAF Aircraftman 1st Class Charles Joseph Crosdale ,
RAAF Corporal John Frederick Palmer ,
RAAF Pilot Officer Richard Frederick Wiesener and
RAAF Flight Lieutenant Robert Edward Hitchcock .
The six passengers on this Lockheed Hudson II aircraft who perished were-
Brigadier Geoffrey Austin STREET, Minister for the Army and Repatriation,
James Valentine FAIRBAIRN, Minister for Air and Civil Aviation,
Sir Henry Somer GULLETT, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister in charge of Scientific and Industrial Research,
General Sir Cyril Brudenell Bingham WHITE, Chief of the General Staff,
Lieutenant Colonel Francis THORNTHWAITE, Staff Officer to General White and
Richard Edwin ELFORD.
Military Service-
Rank: Flight Lieutenant
Service Number: 115
Service: Royal Australian Air Force
Division: 2 RAAF Squadron; RAAF Williams (Point Cook/Laverton)
(MOTTO: Consilio et manu ['To Advise and to Strike'])
Son of Henry Wyman Smith Hitchcock and Violet Elizabeth Hitchcock; husband of Olive Blanche Hitchcock of East St. Kilda, Australia.
Photo - 15 August 1940 - State Funeral passing along St. Kilda Road for six passengers and two of the crew killed in the crash
2 RAAF Squadron's Lockheed Hudson II bomber, with an aircrew of four and with six passengers on board, took off from Melbourne flying to Canberra for a government Cabinet Meeting. The aircraft is believed to have stalled on its landing approach at the RAAF Canberra aerodrome when it was at too low an altitude for a successful recovery. The Hudson crashed about 2 miles east of the airfield, taking the lives of the ten people—four aircrew, six passengers--on board.
The four Royal Australian Air Force aircrew who perished in this crash were-
RAAF Aircraftman 1st Class Charles Joseph Crosdale ,
RAAF Corporal John Frederick Palmer ,
RAAF Pilot Officer Richard Frederick Wiesener and
RAAF Flight Lieutenant Robert Edward Hitchcock .
The six passengers on this Lockheed Hudson II aircraft who perished were-
Brigadier Geoffrey Austin STREET, Minister for the Army and Repatriation,
James Valentine FAIRBAIRN, Minister for Air and Civil Aviation,
Sir Henry Somer GULLETT, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister in charge of Scientific and Industrial Research,
General Sir Cyril Brudenell Bingham WHITE, Chief of the General Staff,
Lieutenant Colonel Francis THORNTHWAITE, Staff Officer to General White and
Richard Edwin ELFORD.
Military Service-
Rank: Flight Lieutenant
Service Number: 115
Service: Royal Australian Air Force
Division: 2 RAAF Squadron; RAAF Williams (Point Cook/Laverton)
(MOTTO: Consilio et manu ['To Advise and to Strike'])
Son of Henry Wyman Smith Hitchcock and Violet Elizabeth Hitchcock; husband of Olive Blanche Hitchcock of East St. Kilda, Australia.
Photo - 15 August 1940 - State Funeral passing along St. Kilda Road for six passengers and two of the crew killed in the crash
The four Royal Australian Air Force aircrew who perished in this crash were-
RAAF Aircraftman 1st Class Charles Joseph Crosdale ,
RAAF Corporal John Frederick Palmer ,
RAAF Pilot Officer Richard Frederick Wiesener and
RAAF Flight Lieutenant Robert Edward Hitchcock .
The six passengers on this Lockheed Hudson II aircraft who perished were-
Brigadier Geoffrey Austin STREET, Minister for the Army and Repatriation,
James Valentine FAIRBAIRN, Minister for Air and Civil Aviation,
Sir Henry Somer GULLETT, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister in charge of Scientific and Industrial Research,
General Sir Cyril Brudenell Bingham WHITE, Chief of the General Staff,
Lieutenant Colonel Francis THORNTHWAITE, Staff Officer to General White and
Richard Edwin ELFORD.
Military Service-
Rank: Flight Lieutenant
Service Number: 115
Service: Royal Australian Air Force
Division: 2 RAAF Squadron; RAAF Williams (Point Cook/Laverton)
(MOTTO: Consilio et manu ['To Advise and to Strike'])
Son of Henry Wyman Smith Hitchcock and Violet Elizabeth Hitchcock; husband of Olive Blanche Hitchcock of East St. Kilda, Australia.
Photo - 15 August 1940 - State Funeral passing along St. Kilda Road for six passengers and two of the crew killed in the crash
Inscription
(Memorial located at the Canberra airfield…)
THIS MEMORIAL CAIRN HAS BEEN ERECTED
TO HONOUR THE MEMORY OF---
WHO WHILE SERVING THEIR COUNTRY
LOST THEIR LIVES ON THIS SPOT
IN AN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT ON 13TH AUGUST 1940.
Family Members
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Records on Ancestry
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Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1961
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UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947
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Australia, World War II Military Service Records, 1939-1945
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UK, World War II Index to Allied Airmen Roll of Honour, 1939-1945
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Australia and New Zealand, Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current
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