KIDGELL, James Ian
| Service Number: | 410499 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 January 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 190 Squadron (RAF) |
| Born: | Wangaratta, Victoria, 4 March 1921 |
| Home Town: | Wangaratta, Wangaratta, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Myrrhee Primary School/ Canterbury Grammar |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Shot down by German Intruder fighter, United Kingdom, 21 November 1944, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
Brookwood Military Cemetery, Pirbright, Surrey, England, United Kingdom |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Euroa Fallen of Euroa District Honour Roll, Euroa War Memorial, Ivanhoe Grammar School Holy Trinity Anglican Chapel Memorial Window, Myrrhee HB2, Oxley War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 30 Jan 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, 410499, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Jan 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 410499 | |
| 21 Nov 1944: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 410499, No. 190 Squadron (RAF), Air War NW Europe 1939-45 |
Help us honour James Ian Kidgell's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
Cecil and Ian Kidgell (twins) were born in 1921. Their father was James Ernest Kidgell who fought in the Boer War and afterwards stayed and worked in South Africa. He made several trips back to Australia. In WW1 James enlisted in South Africa and fought the Germans in Africa. After the war he married Constance Sharp in South Africa and they came to Australia circa 1920 and settled at "Lumeah" in Myrrhee. The twins attended the school at Myrrhee and completed their secondary education at Canterbury Grammar boarding with my grandparents (Bruce Kidgell).
Both Ian and Cecil served in WW2. Ian as a Bomber pilot and Cecil as an aircraft mechanic. Ian was killed in November 1944 when his plane was shot down by an "intruder" while making his landing approach. Until relitively recently it was thought that the crash was due to pilot error, however the Dunmow Broadsheet showed found that an 80 year old witness (14 at the ime) saw the German intuder which explains the crash. At the time, the concept of German Intruders shooting down bombers in England was not being "advertised."
Bruce Kidgell with small contributions from Evan Evans
Click images to start slideshow.