GARDNER, Donald Drew
| Service Number: | 416257 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 April 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 460 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Moonta, South Australia, 23 August 1920 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Natural causes, Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia, 4 December 2005, aged 85 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Kadina Memorial High School WW2 Honour Roll, Paskeville R.S.S.&A.I.L.A. Sub Branch Honour Roll, South Australian Garden of Remembrance |
World War 2 Service
| 28 Apr 1941: | Involvement Flying Officer, 416257 | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Apr 1941: | Enlisted Adelaide | |
| 28 Apr 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 416257 | |
| 1 Jan 1945: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 416257, No. 460 Squadron (RAAF), Air War NW Europe 1939-45 | |
| 26 Mar 1945: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
Donald Drew Gardner died aged 85 at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on the 4th of December 2005 - Death Notice in the Adelaide Advertiser
In October 1942 he was on board RAF Wellington bomber HX775 which crash-landed on Las Palmas Island in the Canary Islands - all of the crew were interned by Spanish authorities until March 1943 - the RAAF crewmen were:
Sergeant Donald Drew Gardner 416257 - discharged March 1945 with rank of Flying Officer
Sergeant Hubert Edward Maxwell Howell 400304 - discharged May 1945 with rank of Flying Officer
Sergeant John Hudson Wilkinson 400444 - KIA in August 1944 over Zielkeim, East Prussia (Germany) in 83 Squadron RAF Lancaster PB249 (rank: Flight Lieutenant)
Click images to start slideshow.