TANNER, Clarence Edgar
| Service Number: | 11689 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 August 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 83 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Albany, Western Australia, 25 November 1912 |
| Home Town: | Coburg, Moreland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Melbourne Technical School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Motor Mechanic |
| Died: | Flying Battle, France, 28 February 1943, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Escoublac-La-Baule War Cemetery, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Sergeant, 11689 | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 11689 | |
| 8 Aug 1941: | Embarked Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 11689, No. 83 Squadron (RAAF), embarked Sydney for UK |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant Clarence Edgar Tanner (Service No:11689) enlisted in the RAAF on 5 August 1940 at Recruit Reception Centre Melbourne as an Aircraftman I - mustered as Fitter, re mustered as Flight Engineer. Leading Aircraftman Tanner was attached to HQ Bankstown and 457 Squadron Williamstown before embarking as a Sergeant from Sydney for the UK on 8 August 1941. Attached to 111 and 460 Squadrons in the UK, Sergeant Tanner was Flight Engineer with 83 Squadron on 28 February 1943 when he was crew member on Lancaster aircraft R5913, and took off Wytton on a bombing mission to St Nazaire in France. Following take off, nothing was heard from the aircraft and it failed to return to base. 'The aircraft crashed in the vicinity of the target and all the crew members were killed' (NAA). Sergeant Tanner was eldest of five brothers - Lionel, Vernon, Horrie and Tom - who served in WWII.
Born in 1912 (WA BDM Registration No:5400004) in Albany Western Australia, Clarence was eldest of six children of Clarence Stephen Tanner (b1885 at Lara via Geelong, Victoria) and Edith Amelia Chapman (b1891 in Albany, Western Australia). Clarence Snr and Edith married in 1912 in Albany, and lived in the Albany region where they raised their family and Clarence Snr was a Farmer. In the mid 1920s Clarence Snr and Edith moved their family to Melbourne, where Clarence Snr was a Gas Company Employee - all five of their sons served in WWII.
Clarence served his Apprenticeship in Melbourne with Stevens Motors Coburg, and worked as a Mechanic with Fedran Motor Coy and Federal Service and Repairs. In 1939 in Melbourne he married Florence (Florrie) Lorna McDonald (b1913 in Melbourne, Victoria) - Florrie was a Hairdresser in Melbourne. Clarence and Florrie settled in Melbourne, where Clarence worked as a Mechanic before enlisting in the RAAF. Following Clarence's death in 1943, Florrie later remarried.
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