THOMAS, Lee
| Service Number: | 443940 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 December 1943 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 1 Wireless Air Gunnery School Ballarat |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales Australia , 15 November 1925 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Central Technical School Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farm Hand |
| Died: | Penrith, New South Wales, Australia , 20 January 2007, aged 81 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 18 Dec 1943: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 443940 | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul 1944: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, No. 3 Wireless Air Gunnery School Maryborough | |
| 26 Apr 1945: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, No. 1 Wireless Air Gunnery School Ballarat | |
| 20 Sep 1945: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 443940 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant Lee Thomas (Service No:443940) enlisted in the RAAF on 18 December 1943 at No 2 Recruiting Centre Woolloomooloo as an Aircraftman II - mustered as Air Crew. Described as 'A likely lad with considerbale experience with motor cars and cycles and very mechanically inclined' (NAA), he was promoted to Leading Aircraftman in July 1944 and Sergeant in April 1945. Sergeant Thomas was attached to 1 Wireless and Gunnery School Ballarat at Discharge on 20 September 1945. His father (George: RAAF) and brother (Arthur: RAN) also served in WWII.
Lee was born in Sydney, NSW in 1924, eldest son of George Henry Thomas (b1901 in Perth, WA) and Dorothy May Meeking (b1899 in Melbourne, Victoria) George was a Bread Carter in 1924 when he and Dorothy married in Sydney, where they settled and raised their family. George worked as a Bread Carter, Storekeeper and Builder.
Lee completed his education at Ultimo Central Technical College, and was an unemployed Farm Hand living in Bondi with his mother (his father George was serving in the RAAF) when he enlisted in the RAAF in 1943. Following his Discharge, Lee worked as a Moulder in Parramatta where, in 1953, he married Betty Margaret Hooper (b1934 in Parramatta, Sydney, NSW). Lee and Betty settled in Sydney, where they raised their family and Lee was a Moulder and Builder. Lee died in 2007 and Betty in 2017.
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