Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK

Died on this date - 21st August......Second Lieutenant Francis Cunningham Shapira was born in 1887 in London, England. He left England on 10th May, 1899 bound for Hobart, Tasmania, Australia with his mother & siblings.

Francis Cunningham Shapira was a 27 year old, single, Station Overseer from Fountenoy, Wallendbeen, NSW when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 1st March, 1915. He was promoted to Corporal on 29th March, 1915.

Corporal Shapira joined 18th Battalion at Gallipoli on 16th August, 1915. He was wounded between 21st-25th August, 1916 & returned to duty at Gallipoli Peninsula on 28th September, 1915.

Corporal Shapira was appointed Temporary Sergeant then Sergeant on 2nd January, 1916. He was wounded on 28th May, 1916 & embarked for England where he was admitted to Dartford War Hospital, England on 5th June, 1916. He recovered & was promoted to Acting C.S.M. (Company Sergeant Major) (without pay) from 24th August, 1916.

Acting C.S.M. Shapira was transferred to Australian Flying Corps on 13th December, 1916 & having gained a Commission with the A.F.C. was appointed Second Lieutenant on 19th June, 1917.

ALSO
William Douglas Sloane was born at Mulwala, New South Wales in 1890. He enlisted on 2nd October, 1916 as a 26 year old Motor Engineer from Mulwala. He embarked from Melbourne on 25th October, 1916 with the 2nd Australian Flying Squadron “B” Flight.
Air Mechanic 2nd Class Sloane was posted to No 69 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps from 31st July, 1917.

In the first week of August 1917, No. 69 Squadron was declared mobilised & became the first Australian squadron to deploy to France. It was decided that instead of an observer being sent with the Pilot that a groundcrew member fly over in case anything went wrong on the flight from England to France. They departed from South Carlton on the morning of 21 August, with their first leg planned to take them from Lincolnshire to Lympne, the Channel staging base in Kent.

Second Lieutenant Francis Cunningham Shapira, pilot, & Air Mechanic 2nd Class William Douglas Sloane, passenger, in an R.E.8. Serial number B3421, having previously diverted to Biggin Hill Aerodrome, Kent, England with engine trouble, departed on 21st August, 1917. The Casualty Card from R.A.F. Museum Story vault recorded nature & cause of the accident as: “Pilot after taking off from forced landing turned down wind at 700 ft. & got into a spin from which he did not recover.” A Court of Inquiry found “Engine running satisfactorily – not due to any breakage of any structural part. Engine running at moment of impact with ground – did not catch fire in air – at 700 ft machine got into a spin & pilot was unable to recover before hitting ground.”

Second Lieutenant Francis Cunningham Shapira died at 2.15 pm on 21st August, 1917 at Biggin Hill, Westerham, England as a result of an aeroplane accident. Air Mechanic 2nd Class William Douglas Sloane also died in the accident.

Both men were buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, England.

(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/s---tr.html