John Wilson CRAWFORD DSO, ED, MID*

CRAWFORD, John Wilson

Service Number: NX378
Enlisted: 18 March 1940
Last Rank: Brigadier
Last Unit: 11th Infantry Brigade Headquarters
Born: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 8 July 1899
Home Town: Warrawee, Ku-ring-gai, New South Wales
Schooling: Sydney University, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation: B.A., LL.B.
Died: Aircraft accident, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, 7 March 1943, aged 43 years
Cemetery: Cairns War Cemetery, Queensland
Plot A. Row A. Grave 15. , Kranji War Cemetery, Kranji, Singapore
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Freshwater Crash of De Havilland Dragon Memorial Plaque
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World War 2 Service

3 Sep 1939: Involvement Brigadier, NX378
18 Mar 1940: Enlisted Lieutenant Colonel, NX378, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion, Ex-Commander of the Sydney University Regiment. Tasked to raise the 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion from scratch.
18 Mar 1940: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Brigadier, NX378
10 Apr 1941: Involvement Lieutenant Colonel, NX378, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion, Siege of Tobruk, "Cake Eater" Crawford (as he was affectionately known by his troops) commanded the 2/17th Infantry Battalion throughout their stint during the Siege of Tobruk, Libya.
7 Mar 1943: Wounded Brigadier, NX378, 11th Infantry Brigade Headquarters, Whilst on military Operations, was fatally wounded in an accidental air crash into dense jungle in North Queensland.

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Biography contributed by David Barlow

De Havilland Dragon A34-24 was on hire from McRobertson and Muir Airways of the Northern Territory and was being used for courier work around far north Queensland by RAAF Number 5 Communications Flight when it crashed in the Jigol Peak area in Freshwater Gorge near Cairns (Crystal Cascade) during a flight from Cairns to Mareeba

Killed were:

Sergeant Lindsay James Sutherland McColl, pilot, 405796

Brigadier John Crawford NX378 DSO Commander of 11 Brigade

Lieutenant Arthur William Morris of the 26th Battalion NX145684

Two seriously injured survivors were found four days after the crash wandering around in the bush: Lieutenant Colonel Philip Heathcote George Cardale NX483 of the 31st Battalion / Australian Army Staff Corps (discharged April 1947)

Aircraftman Ronald Henry Appleby 412876 RAAF crewman (discharged March 1946)

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