EDMONDS, Neville John
| Service Number: | 411685 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 May 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 156 Squadron (RAF) |
| Born: | Cobar, New South Wales, Australia, 12 January 1918 |
| Home Town: | Cobar, Cobar, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Night Bombing raid - lost to night fighter, Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany, 2 December 1943, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
Becklingen War Cemetery, Germany Becklingen War Cemetery, Luneburg, Germany |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial, Lithgow War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 24 May 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 411685 | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 May 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 411685, No. 156 Squadron (RAF) | |
| 23 Nov 1943: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 411685, No. 156 Squadron (RAF), Air War NW Europe 1939-45, Lost with the crew of JB472 (less the navigator who survived PoW) near Hannover |
Death of a Lancaster - No. 156 Squadron
From Flight Sergeant Norman MacDonald, only survivor of JB472
The crew of Lancaster JB472 with Reginald Wicks as pilot, joined the Squadron on 23 November 1943. They flew their first mission on 23 November - a night raid on Berlin. This was closely followed by another night mission to Berlin on 26 November.
On 2 December JB472 took off from Warboys airfield for their third raid on Berlin. In a report given by Flight Sergeant Norman Macdonald after the war he describes what happened to their aircraft as they flew over eastern Germany:
'Attack by enemy fighter reported by rear gunner - pilot acknowledged, took evasive action and just then we were hit. Crew put on chutes, aircraft in steep dive. At approx between 17 and 15, 000 feet violent explosion. I was sucked out the starboard side of aircraft. Regained consciousness at approx 4,000 feet opened 'chute landed ok. I believe pilot jettisoned bombs endeavouring to save crew and aircraft but aircraft crashed 20 miles north of Hannover. The next day I was captured in the goods yard of the village railway station by 2 German soldiers who were searching for me and taken to identify wreckage of aircraft from which German officials had removed the bodies of my 6 colleagues. Taken to Frankfurt for interrogation put into solitary confinement then to Stalag IVB.'
Submitted 8 September 2017 by Steve Larkins
Click images to start slideshow.