SIMPSON, James Watt
| Service Number: | 400570 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 September 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 32 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia, 16 October 1913 |
| Home Town: | Fitzroy, Yarra, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Taylor Coaching College, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | School Teacher / Tram Driver |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Gasmata, New Britain, Pacific Islands, 4 March 1942, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea (CWGC) Grave Reference Location ~ Plot F, Row C, Grave 9. Personal Inscription ~ "HIS DUTY FEARLESSLY AND NOBLY DONE EVER REMEMBERED". |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Sergeant, 400570 | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 400570 | |
| 21 Feb 1942: | Transferred Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, No. 32 Squadron (RAAF) |
Help us honour James Watt Simpson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
Hudson A16-165 took off from 7 Mile Strip in New Guinea on a night-time bombing raid on Gasmata, New Britain with four other aircraft, it did not return along with Hudson A16-101
Aircraft wreckage was discovered on Urai Island, New Britain in 1946 and identified as A16-165
One crew member was taken POW and executed the day of the crash - Flight Lieutenant Kenneth James Erwin 261863
The rest of the crew were killed in the crash:
Pilot Officer, Eric Lyle McLauchlan 405644
Sergeant James Watt Simpson 400570
Sergeant Ian Munro Barwick 5810
(the NAA casualty file for Sergeant Barwick contains a comprehensive report on the search for missing airmen and their fate)
Click images to start slideshow.