MARSHALL, Mervyn Wilfred
| Service Number: | 401452 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 February 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Warragul, Victoria, Australia, 8 May 1920 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Melbourne High School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Advertising Salesman |
| Died: | Accidental, West Africa, 13 November 1942, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Christiansborg War Cemetery, Greater Accra, Ghana |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Warragul War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Sergeant, 401452 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Feb 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 401452 | |
| 29 Mar 1941: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman | |
| 11 Aug 1941: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, Airman Pilot – DH 82 Wirraway aircraft | |
| 16 Nov 1941: | Embarked Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 401452, Att: RAF; embarked Sydney for UK via Canada | |
| 18 Apr 1942: | Embarked Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 401452, embarked from England for Middle East, then posted to 128 Squadron, Takoradi, West Africa |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant Mervyn Wilfred Marshall (Service No:401452) initially enlisted in the RAAF Reserve on 5 July 1940 before enlisting in the RAAF at No 1 Recruiting Centre Melbourne as an Aircraftman II, and was promoted to Leading Aircraftman on 29 March 1941. LAC Marshall completed his flying training (DH A22 Wirraway aircraft) in Australia and the UK, and was promoted to Sergeat (Airman Pilot) on 11 August 1941. Qualified as a Fighter Pilot, he served with 234 Squadron and transferred to West Africa where he flew Hurricane aircraft with the RAF based at Takoradi in Ghana. On 13 November 1942, Sergeant Marshall was on patrol when his Hurricane aircraft caught fire. He bailed out successfully, but did not survive as his parachute did not open properly.
Sergeant Marshall is buried at Christianborg War Cemetery. The Australian High Commission Accra wrote to Sergeant Marshall's family, through the Department of External Affairs, advising that 'Sergeant Marshall's is the only Australian War Grave in the area ... and that since 1963, his grave is the focal point of the annual ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the cemetery - 'It might be that, if Sergeant Marshall has next of kin and they can be traced, they would be interested to know that he is not forgotten, but that his grave forms the site for an impressive little wreath laying ceremony each year by the Australian and New Zealand communities .... This year there were some twenty Australians and New Zealanders present at this little ceremony' (NAA: Australian High Commission Accra; 1963).
Mervyn was the youngest of six children born in Warragul, Victoria in 1920 to David Marshall (b1876 in Sale, Victoria) and Annie Lucinda Rodda (b1881 in Daylesford, Victoria). David (a Farmer) and Annie married in 1901 in Warragul, where they settled and raised their family and David was a Farmer. In the late 1920s David and Annie moved to Melbourne, where David worked as a Contractor, Labourer and Driver before retiring to Sale.
Mervyn completed his education at Melbourne High School and was working as an Advertising Salesman when he enlisted in the RAAF.
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