WIGNALL, Walter Joseph
| Service Number: | 17299 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 24 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 13 November 1916 |
| Home Town: | North Perth, Vincent, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Motor Mechanic, Boans (Garage) Ltd, Perth, Western Australia |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Soemba Straits, Netherlands East Indies, 6 April 1945, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Northern Territory Memorial, Adelaide River, Northern Territory, Australia. Panel 8. |
| Memorials: | Adelaide River Northern Territory Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Sergeant, 17299 | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, No. 24 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| 8 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 17299 |
Help us honour Walter Joseph Wignall's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
RAAF Liberator aircraft A72-81 of Number 24 Squadron was shot down near Sumba Island in the Soemba Strait, Netherlands East Indies with 11 crew on board while taking part in an attack on the Japanese cruiser Isuzu. A crewman survived bailing out - Warrant Officer Shilling 406816 (discharged February 1946)
He was picked up by Catalina flying boat A24-54 of 112 Air Sea Rescue Flight Darwin but that aircraft was subsequently destroyed by strafing from a Japanese fighter with the loss of crewman Sergeant Jones 34647. Another Catalina from 43SQN landed an hour later to pick up Shilling and the surviving crew from A24-54 plus Warrant Officer Vickers 401867 & Flight Sergeant Sayer 30337 from Liberator A72-77 which had been shot down on the same mission. After a running battle with Japanese fighters the second Catalina reached Darwin with no more fatalities.
All those killed in this action from Liberator A72-81 are commemorated on the Northern Territory Memorial to the Missing located at Adelaide River War Cemetery, NT -
Flight Sergeant Ronald Joseph Banks 436999 - Son of Joseph and Harriet Banks & Husband of Mabel Jean Banks of Homebush, NSW
Flight Sergeant Trevor Edward Bowen 439863 - Son of Gilbert Tyson Bowen and Mary Veronica Bowen of Wagga Wagga, NSW
Flying Officer Kelvin Arthur Roy Brown 426804 - Son of George Henry and Lilian Brown & Husband of Hazel May Brown of Morwell, Victoria
Flight Sergeant Allan Davis 431280 - Son of Alfred Alexander Davis and Annie Eleanor Davis of Traralgon, Victoria
Flight Lieutenant Sydney Leonard McDonald 411524 - Son of Ernest Reginald and Lilian McDonald of Leeton, NSW
Flying Officer Peter Albert Mouatt 405523 - Son of Robert William and Jessie May Mouatt & Husband of Doris Wilhelmina Mouatt of Pelican Island, NSW
Flight Sergeant John Stanley Thomson 438719 - Son of Herbert Edgar Thomson and Louisa Thomson of Dartmoor, Victoria
Flight Sergeant Leslie Kenneth Walmsley 435740 - Son of Leslie Albert and Mary Ellen Walmsley of Balmoral, Queensland
Sergeant Walter Joseph Wignall 17299 - Son of William Hayes Wignall and Mary Ellen Wignall of North Perth, Western Australia
Flying Officer Alexander George Worley 435236 - Son of Alexander and Lottie Jane Cooper Worley of Boonah, Queensland
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