ASHDOWN, Maxwell
| Service Number: | 295326 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Katanning, Western Australia, 11 December 1918 |
| Home Town: | Bruce Rock, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Travelling Salesman |
| Died: | Accidental, Victoria, Victoria, Australia, 2 July 1945, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
Nhill Cemetery, Victoria Plot A, Row A, Grave 1 Roll of Honour Perth WA, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Nhill R.A.A.F. Base WW2 Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Lieutenant, 295326 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Perth, Western Australia | |
| 10 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 295326 |
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6 Service Flying Training School
Rank - Fight Lt.https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/admin/people/618466/edit
Plane was Wirraway A20-182 at Lorquon, Victoria Australia
Son of Hubert Stanley and Florence Charlotte Ashdown; Husband of Mavis Sanderson Ashdown, of Hollywood, Western Australia.
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Flight Lieutenant Maxwell Ashdown (Service No:295326) enlisted in the RAAF on 10 June 1940 and was killed on 2 July 1945 when the aircraft he was flying crashed eight km east of Lorquon in the Hindmarsh Shire in Victoria. At the time Flight Lieutenant Ashdown was engaged in a refresher course on single engined aeroplanes - he had 1,906 flying hours. 'From accounts of eyewitnesses, it appears that the aeroplane flicked off a turn at low altitude and dived into the ground' (National Archives Australia). Flight Lieutenant Ashdown was an Instructor at a number of RAAF Stations in the Eastern States and at Cunderdin and Geraldton in WA. He was attached to 6 Service Flying Training School when he died.
Born in 1918 in Katanning WA, Max was the second of four children (sons) of Hubert Stanley Ashdown (b1891 in London, England) and Florence Charlotte Thomas (b1894 in Albany, WA). Hubert worked as a Railway Clerk in Kent, England before immigrating to WA, where he was Station Master at Koolanooka in 1916 when he married Florence. In 1917 Hubert enlisted in the AIF in June and was Discharged in November (Private; Service No:14612). Hubert worked as Station Master with WAGR and he and Florence and their children lived in Beenup, Northampton, Northam, Bunbury, Wagin, York, Yarloop, Brunswick Junction, Kellerberrin, Merredin and Geraldton before settling in Perth.
Max worked in Kellerberrin and Bruce Rock as a Travelling Salesman for Elder, Smith and Coy and was well known in sporting circles as a golf and tennis player of note. In 1943 in Perth WA, Max married Mavis Sanderson Keyser (b1915 in Katanning, WA) - Mavis worked as a Typist in Kellerberrin and Busselton. Mavis was in Adelaide, South Australia when Max was killed, and then settled in Perth, WA. Max's father Hubert petitioned the RAAF vigorously to have his son's body re-interred at Karrakatta in Perth - this request was denied.
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