BELLERT, Morris Ambrose
| Service Number: | 404001 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 April 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 82 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 14 November 1916 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Brisbane State School , Queensland, Australia (Sub Intermediate Standard). |
| Occupation: | Aircraft Maintenance with Rankin's Aviation Company. |
| Died: | Flying Battle, At sea off Papua Coast., 18 October 1944, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lae War Cemetery Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Official Burial Reference ~ Plot NN. Row C. Grave 14. Personal Inscription ~ "A HEROIC FLYER, BUT A MAN IN EVERY SENSE. THUS HE WAS, THUS HE DIED -- SUCH SADNESS". |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flying Officer, 404001 | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Apr 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force | |
| 26 Apr 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 404001, No. 82 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| 18 Oct 1944: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 404001, No. 82 Squadron (RAAF), Air War SW Pacific 1941-45 |
Missing in Air Operations
Flying-Offlcer Morris A. Bellert, husband of Mrs. Bellert (nee Rale Lawson, Casino), and son of Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Bellert, Blrkdale, Brisbane, missing in air operations in
South-west Pacific. Before the war he was a civil aviation pilot.
The Courier Mail Monday 26 February 1945 page 5
Submitted 18 October 2015 by Faithe Jones
Biography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Morris Ambrose BELLERT was born in Brisbane, Queensland on 4th November, 1916
His parents were Richard Albert Julius BELLERT & Mary Jane CRONAU who married in Queensland on 30th May, 1910
He married Nea Raie LAWSON in NSW in 1941 (registered in Casino) - one son Allan
Morris had no known grave when he died and his remains were finally buried in Lae Cemetery 55 years after his death
Biography contributed by David Barlow
Flying Officer Bellert 404001 of 82SQN RAAF was killed when Kittyhawk A29-641 crashed at Manokwari, Dutch New Guinea
Biography contributed by Stephen Bonald
On 18 October 1944, Kittyhawk A29-641 flown by Flying Officer Bellert together with three other aircraft were returning to base at Noemfoor, after completing an operational sweep of Ceram and neighbouring islands when it encountered bad weather in the Vogelkop area. A29-641 was last seen off Manokwari, Dutch New Guinea, heading north-west, but it failed to arrive at its destination. When this aircraft failed to return, it was officially listed as Missing in Action (MIA).
In December 1998, an Indonesian fisherman discovered the intact wreckage of P-40N Kittyhawk (A29-641) off the coast of New Guinea. The following year, early 1999, a RAAF Searcher Team visited the crash site and recovered the remains of the pilot. Flying Officer Morris Bellert remains were interred at Lae War Cemetery on 15 April 1999 under Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Official Burial Reference Plot NN. Row C. Grave 14.
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