HURSTHOUSE, John Wilson
| Service Number: | 416215 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 April 1941, Adelaide, SA |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 21 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 26 September 1913 |
| Home Town: | Elbow Hill, Franklin Harbour, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Queens College, Adelaide. Roseworthy Agricultural College, Gawler, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Farm Labourer & Lorry Driver |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Vansittart Bay, Western Australia, Australia, 23 March 1945, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Northern Territory Memorial Adelaide River, Coomalie Shire, Northern Territory, Australia. Panel 7. |
| Memorials: | Adelaide River Northern Territory Memorial, Adelaide WW2 Wall of Remembrance, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cowell Memorial Plaque for J Mills & J.W. Hursthouse, Cowell War Memorial, North Adelaide Christ Church and Queen's College Honour Roll WW2, Prospect St. Cuthbert's Church WW2 Honour Board, Whyalla BHP Employees War Memorial, Whyalla Memorial Wall, Whyalla Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 24 Apr 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman 2 (WW2), 416215, Aircrew Training Units, Adelaide, SA | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Apr 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 416215 | |
| 23 Mar 1945: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 416215, No. 21 Squadron (RAAF), Air War SW Pacific 1941-45, Killed 23 March 1945 along with the rest of his crew when their aircraft ditched in Vansittart Bay WA | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement |
Help us honour John Wilson Hursthouse's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
Son of Calvert Fearon Hursthouse and Lilian Ethel Hursthouse
Husband of Jean Isabel Hursthouse of Toorak Gardens, South Australia
RAAF Liberator aircraft A72-80 of 24 Squadron crashed into Vansittart Bay, WA shortly after take-off from Truscott airstrip on an Operational mission - all on board were killed:
Bodies not recovered, commemorated on the Northern Territory Memorial -
Flying Officer John Wilson Hursthouse 416215
Flying Officer Raymond Allenby Whiting 426733
Warrant Officer William Richard Flanagan 401748
Warrant Officer Herbert Gordon Parker 408591
Flight Sergeant Howey James Boyd 427775
Flight Sergeant Ronald Malcolm Morris 46563
Flight Sergeant John Richmond Ryan 422716
Sergeant Alexander Douglas Whitehead 121592
Corporal Douglas William Madden 36484
Bodies recovered, buried at Adelaide River War Cemetery -
Squadron Leader Nathaniel Ivan Straus 250759 (Mentioned in Despatches)
Flight Lieutenant Charles David Parry-Okeden 404485
Flight Sergeant William Anthony Jordan Rodgers 436889
Biography contributed by Colleen Peters
John (Jack) Wilson Hursthouse was educated at Queen's College and the Roseworthy Agricultural College where he completed a Diploma in Agriculture. He joined the 18/23rd (Machine Gun) Light Horse Regiment before gaining employment with BHP at Whyalla. Prior to enlisting with the Royal Australian Air Force, Hursthouse was employed in the Franklin Harbour district as a farm labourer and lorry driver. He was married to Miss Jean Williams, daughter of Mr and Mrs JA Williams of Elbow Hill.
Hursthouse served for 3 years gaining the rank of Pilot Officer, then Flying Officer, before being killed during an operational accident off the Kimberley Region- Western Australia. On March 23 1945, RAAF Liberator aircraft A72-80 from No. 24 Squadron took off from Truscott Strip at 0650 hours leading a formation of four aircraft on a shipping sweep. The crew consisted of Squadron Leader (Captain) NH Straus, Flying Officer Hursthouse and 10 others. Shortly after take-off the captain indicated they were preparing for an emergency landing. Various messages from the aircraft were received but the exact cause of the distress was not conveyed, all that was received was that the aircraft could not gain height. The aircraft was ditched into Vansittart Bay - Indian Ocean and crews of the remaining three aircraft saw the A72-80 ditch with wings level but at a fairly high rate of descent. The aircraft caught fire on impact with the water and disintegrated.
Flying Officer Hursthouse's body was never recovered. He was survived by his wife, Jean and an infant son-David.
National Archives Australia - John Wilson Hursthouse
Trove - Eyre's Peninsula Tribune 25 Feb 1943, 29 Mar 1945.
Trove - The Advertiser 30 Mar 1945
Trove-Port Lincoln Times 18 Feb 1943
Click images to start slideshow.