UNKLES, Denis Jack
| Service Number: | 408766 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 May 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | No. 4 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps |
| Born: | Sale, Victoria, Australia, 23 November 1915 |
| Home Town: | Sale, Gippsland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | St. Patricks College, Sale, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Property Manager |
| Died: | Air operations, New Guinea, 15 April 1944, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lae War Cemetery Burial Plot Refernece ~ Plot NN, Row C, Grave 13. Personal Inscription ~ "BELOVED HUSBAND OF SHEILA, FATHER OF DENISE & PETER...REST IN PEACE". |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Sale Cenotaph, Stratford War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 23 May 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, 408766, No. 4 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 May 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 408766, No. 4 Squadron (RAAF) |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Apr 1944: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 408766, No. 4 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps |
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Help us honour Denis Jack Unkles's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Denis Jack UNKLES was born in Sale, Victoria on 23rd November, 1915
His parents were William Charles UNKLES & Katherine DOYLE
He married Sheila Florence KEANE on 22nd February, 1941 in St Marys and the Angels Church in Geelong, Victoria
He had previously served with the 13th Light Horse Reconnaissance Unit in Sale and left to join the RAAF - he enlisted in Melbourne on 23rd May 1941 with the Royal Australian Air Force - his last rank was Flight Lieutenant with the 4 Squadron
Denis & observer Lieut John Rawden FEATHERSTONEHAUGH took off from the Gusap airstrip on April, 15, 1944 in a Wirraway aircraft for a reconnaissance flight over the Wantoak area - they crashed near Gasmata & never returned - the wreckage was discovered late in 1998 & they were buried in the Lae War Cemetery on 13th January, 1999 with full military honours
Biography contributed by Stephen Bonald
Details of Final Mission~~~On April 15, 1944 at 7:55am CA-9 Wirraway (A20-480) took off from Gusap Airfield piloted by Flight Lieutenant Jack Unkles with observer Lieutenant John Fetherstonhaugh from the 45 Air Liaison Unit, Australian Headquarters, AIF on a tactical reconnaissance mission over Japanese occupied areas near Wantoat. After takeoff, the plane was never seen again and declared Missing In Action (MIA). Further investigation established that the Wirraway crashed into in a hillside near Kewieng village in the Finisterre Range. Afterwards, villagers trekked to the crash site and buried the remains of the crew next to the crashed plane.
In 1998, American anthropologist Dr. Will Betz was told about aircraft wreckage at an elevation of 7,546' / 2,300m near Kewieng village in the Finisterre Range. Later, the crash site was visited by Richard Leahy and Dr. Will Betz, who identified it as Wirraway A20-480. Villagers claimed the crashed plane was "perused by a Japanese fighter causing it to crash". In October 1998, a RAAF Forensic Recovery Team "Operation Kewieng" visited the crash site and conducted a survey and excavation that resulted in the recovery of both crew members.
Both of these war heros were officially declared dead the day of the mission. After the recovery of remains, both crew members were buried with full military honors at Lae War Cemetery on 13th January, 1999. Flight Lieutenant Unkles in Plot NN. Row C. Grave 13 and Lieutenat John Fetherstonhaugh in Plot NN. Row C. Grave 12.
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