CONNELL, George Roy
| Service Numbers: | 427802, WX26489 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 December 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 35 Squadron (RAAF) - WW2 |
| Born: | Fremantle, Western Australia, 25 April 1923 |
| Home Town: | East Fremantle, East Fremantle, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Flying Accident, At sea (between Ambon and Darwin), 19 December 1945, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Commemorated ~ Column 8, Ambon Memorial, Maluku, Indonesia. |
| Memorials: | Ambon Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flying Officer, 427802 | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX26489, 44 Infantry Battalion AMF | |
| 4 Oct 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, 44 Infantry Battalion AMF, Discharged to enlist in RAAF | |
| 6 Oct 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 427802, No. 35 Squadron (RAAF) - WW2 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Mari Walker
George Roy CONNELL enlisted on 20 December 1941, initially serving with 44 Btn from 5 January 1942 and on 12 October 1942 he joined the RAAF.
Flying Officer Connell was one of a crew in Dakota aircraft A.65-83 from #35 Squadron which took off on a non-operational flight from Ambon to Darwin on 19 December 1945 and failed to reach its destination.
The crew were
FO Frank ROBINSON, Captain
Fl Lt Neville John HAZLE, 2nd Pilot
FO George Roy CONNELL, WO AIR
Fl Sgt Francis BODLEY, Navigator
Sgt William MULLEN, Passenger
Ldg Aircraftman Leslie Hamilton WILSON, Passenger
There were also 19 other passengers from other Services.
The aircraft originally departed from Morotai at 11.40am on 18 December 1945 and then took off from Ambon at 12.44pm on 19 December 1945 en route to Darwin. The last contact made by air was with Air Radio Darwin at 3.44am on the same day, and when instructed by Darwin to go ahead, the aircraft did not reply. At 2330 hours, the Operations Officer of No. 112 Air Sea Rescue Flight (F/O BR McClintock) reported this aircraft as being overdue to the Commanding Officer, RAAF Station, Darwin. Extensive searches were carried out for 17 days without any trace and future searches also failed to find any trace of the plane or its occupants.
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