KNIGHTS, Walter William Nelson
| Service Number: | 30159 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 April 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 619 Squadron (RAF) |
| Born: | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 6 February 1922 |
| Home Town: | Hobart, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Storeman |
| Died: | Accidental, Yorkshire, England, 27 November 1943, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, North Yorkshire, England Sec. C. Row E. Grave 19. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Sergeant, 30159 | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Apr 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 30159, No. 619 Squadron (RAF) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Walter William Nelson Knights was the son of Son of Walter Nelson Knights and Isabel Marie Knights, of Hobart, Tasmania. His father had served with the 52nd Battalion during WW1, being awarded the Military Medal for extraordinary bravery at Mouquet Farm during 1916.
Walter junior was only 18 years of age when enlisted in the RAAF during 1940. He was an Air Gunner aboard a Lancaster which crashed in Yorkshire on returning from a raid on Germany.
“On the night of 26th/27th November 1943 the crew of this 619 Squadron aircraft took off from Woodhall Spa airfield at 17.10hrs to undertake an operational flight to bomb Berlin. On their return to the UK the weather and visibility over Lincolnshire was very poor and numerous Lincolnshire-based squadrons instructed their returning aircraft to divert north to land in Yorkshire after a few crashes in Lincolnshire around midnight. The visibility over Yorkshire was not much better and a number of Lancasters would crash before they could land including at least three from 619 Squadron. The crew of DV336 arrived over Elvington with the weather poor, they made two attempts at landing at Elvington and the second was made on completely the wrong line and at low altitude. The pilot then opened up the throttles to try and fly another circuit of the airfield but as a turn to the left was made the aircraft lost height and crashed at around 01.50hrs near Noah's Ark Farm, between Elvington and Wheldrake. There appears to have a large bomb or bombs still on board when it crashed as witnesses stated that the hole made by the crashing aircraft was "as big as a house". Sadly, all seven airmen were killed; the bodies of five were recovered while two of the crew were never found and are commemorated on the Runnnymede Memorial. Knights was the only Australian crew member. An investigation believed that fatigue of the crew was probably the reason why the aircraft crashed, it had been in the air for over eight and a half hours flying through poor weather for the length of the flight.”
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