BENSLEY, Marcus
| Service Numbers: | 425586, 425586 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 April 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 19 December 1922 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Brisbane Grammar School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Travelling Salesman (Besley & Pike PTY LTD) |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Italy, 15 August 1944, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bari War Cemetery XV. A. 3, Bari War Cemetery, Bari, Apulia, Italy |
| Memorials: | Albert Street Uniting Church Memorial Window 2, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Spring Hill Brisbane Grammar School WW2 Great Hall Honour Board |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Sergeant, 425586 | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 425586 | |
| 5 May 1943: | Embarked Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 425586, embarked Brisbane for UK |
Help us honour Marcus Bensley'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 Sergeant Marcus Bensley 425586 was killed in the loss of Wellington JA508 of 70SQN RAF at Foggia, Italy
Also killed were Sergeant James Harry Couch 1425206 RAF / Flight Sergeant Gerford Charles Grimmett 1338980 RAF / Flight Sergeant Harold Walter James Savin 1323100 RAF / Sergeant Charles William Stern 1601165 RAF
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Filght Sergeant Marcus Bensley (Service No:425586) enlisted in the RAAF at No 3 Recruiting Centre Brisbane on 25 April 1942 as an Aircraftman II - mustered as Air Crew, re mustered as Pilot. Promoted to Flight Sergeant in 1943, he embarked from Brisbane for the UK on 5 May 1943, and to North Africa (where he completed 46 sorties) on 27 March 1944. Flight Sergeant/Pilot Bensley was attached to No 70 Squadron on 15 August 1944 when he was KiA returning from night operations over Marseilles. The Wellington JA508 aircraft he was piloting crashed near Tortorella, Italy with no survivors.
Marcus was born in Brisbane, QLD in 1922, second of three children (and only son) of Mark Bensley (b1891 at Rosewood, Darling Downs, QLD) and Ellen May Preston (b1899 in London, England). Mark and Ellen married in London in 1919, when Mark was serving in the AIF (Service No:2560). Following his Discharge, Mark and Ellen settled in Brisbane where they raised their family and Mark was a Public Servant - Engineer with the Postmaster General's Department. Mark served in the ACMF (Service No:Q155002) in WWII.
Marcus was working in Brisbane as a Travelling Salesman for Besley & Pike Pty Ltd in 1942 when he enlisted in the RAAF - he had served with the Cadet Corps from 1938 to 1940.
Click images to start slideshow.