BARNFATHER, Eliot Ralph
| Service Number: | 400393 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 August 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 218 Squadron (RAF) |
| Born: | Geelong, Victoria, Australia, 27 January 1915 |
| Home Town: | Geelong West, Greater Geelong, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Unknown |
| Occupation: | Barrister and Solicitor. |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Denmark, 18 May 1942, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Esbjerg (Fourfelt) Cemetery Brande, Denmark Plot A111, Row 11, Grave 13 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 20 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 400393 | |
| 18 May 1942: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 400393, No. 218 Squadron (RAF), Air War NW Europe 1939-45 |
Help us honour Eliot Ralph Barnfather's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Steve Larkins
400393 Sergeant (Sgt) Eliot Ralph Barnfather RAAF, was A barrister and solicitor from Geelong, Victoria, prior to enlistment.
Sgt Barnfather trained initially at No 8 Elementary Flying Training School (8 EFTS), Narrandera before being shipped to Canada to continue his training under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). He received his 'wing' as an air observer on 22 June 1941.
Commissioned after his training, Flying Officer (FO) Barnfather was a crew member of 218 Squadron RAF Stirling bomber N6071, radio call sign HA-G, which was shot down near Lyne, Denmark, on 18 May 1942. He was fatally wounded after parachuting from the aircraft. He was 27 years of age.
Fellow crew said he saw Eliot laying dead in a field by was unsure if he had died because the parachute failed or that he was too low when he bailed out of the plane
Plane was Stirling MK6071. Squadron 218
Son of Thomas Stanley Barnfather and Ruby Alice Barnfather, of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
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