STOPHER, Robert Douglas
| Service Number: | 415695 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 December 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia, 22 June 1918 |
| Home Town: | Kalamunda, Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Germany, 5 November 1944, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany Coll. grave 11. D. 4-6. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial, Kings Park Western Australia State War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Warrant Officer, 415695 | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, 415695 |
Biography
Warrant Officer Robert Douglas Stopher, of 466 Squadron RAAF, was born at Southern Cross in June 1918, one of four brothers and a sister born to Reginald and Muriel Stopher, late of Grants Patch.
His schooling was done by correspondence at the family farm and he enjoyed playing tennis, cricket and soccer. Bob lived on the farm till he was 15, when the family walked off during the Great Depression and moved to Grants Patch.
Prior to his enlistment in Perth in December 1941 he was the paymaster at Grants Patch goldmine.
After training in Australia he was posted to 461 Squadron as a rear gunner. They flew Sunderland Flying boats from Pembroke Dock in Wales in search of 'U' boats in the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay.
In October 1944, he was posted to 466 Squadron as a rear gunner in Halifax Heavy Bombers flying from Driffield Air Base. His plane, number 132, was shot down by a night fighter on his fifth mission.
Warrant Officer Robert Douglas Stopher, of 466 Squadron RAAF, was killed in action on 5 November 1944 at Bochum. He was 26 years of age.
Submitted 25 April 2024 by Lee Tatnall
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Reginald Herbert and Muriel Mildred Stopher, of Kalamunda, Western Australia.
HIS DUTY FEARLESSLY AND NOBLY DONE. EVER REMEMBERED
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