GUNSON, Norman Peter Coles
| Service Number: | 407424 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 October 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | No. 34 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Glenelg, South Australia, 18 August 1917 |
| Home Town: | Glenelg, Holdfast Bay, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Sacred Heart College, Glenelg, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk - Adelaide Steamship Company |
| Died: | Illness, Adelaide, South Australia, 21 November 2009, aged 92 years |
| Cemetery: |
West Terrace Cemetery (General) |
| Memorials: | Somerton Park Sacred Heart College Honor Roll WW2 |
World War 2 Service
| 12 Oct 1940: | Involvement Flight Lieutenant, 407424 | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Oct 1940: | Enlisted Adelaide | |
| 12 Oct 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 407424 | |
| 16 Jan 1946: | Discharged | |
| 16 Jan 1946: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, No. 34 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| Date unknown: | Honoured Distinguished Flying Cross |
Help us honour Norman Peter Coles GUNSON's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
Flight Lieutenant Norman Peter Coles Gunson DFC 407424 served with Number 22 Squadron RAAF flying Boston bomber aircraft in the SWPA - he was commended for his flying skill in returning to base in A28-5 after the aircraft was heavily hit by anti-aircraft fire over New Britain 29 August 1943
He is buried in West Terrace Cemetery in Adelaide and the family plot also commemorates his brother Flying Officer Paul Coles Gunson 407436 who was KIA on the 1st of October 1942 in 13SQN Hudson A16-243 - Paul is officially commemorated on the Northern Territory Memorial to the Missing in Adelaide River War Cemetery.
Norman and Paul enlisted together on the 12th of October 1940
The AWM hold his Flight Log book and a photographic scrapbook that he compiled during his WW2 service in New Guinea
Their cousins also served in the RAAF - Flying Officer Alan William Morphett Gunson 417178 (KIA 21 Sep 1943 with 10SQN RAAF) & Flying Officer Henry Arthur Morphett Gunson 416955 (survived the war - flew with 463 Squadron RAAF)
Biography contributed by Thomas More College
Norman Peter, Coles Gunson was born in Glenelg, South Australia, on August 16, 1917. On October 12, 1940, Gunson became a flying officer in the Royal Australian Air Force. After that, he was assigned to the Port Moresby, New Guinea-based 22 Squadron RAAF flying Boston bomber aircraft in the SWPA. He took part in anti-shipping operations and patrols with this unit. On August 29, 1943, Flight Lieutenant Gunson was hit by an anti-aircraft fire near Ring, New Britain. His aircraft experienced both significant and catastrophic damage. Nevertheless, Flight Lieutenant Gunson managed to go back inside the plane and safely shut it down (nla.gov.au). He moved to 34 unit in January 1945, but tragically, while serving in this unit during World War II, he was killed in a flying combat.
He is laid to rest in Adelaide's West Terrace Cemetery, where his\ brother Flying Officer Paul Coles Gunson 407436, who was killed in action on October 1, 1942, is also remembered in the family plot.
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