LEWIS, Oliver John Trevor
| Service Number: | 40054 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 37 Squadron (RAF) |
| Born: | 1915, place not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Off Wilhelmshave, Germany, 18 December 1939 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, England, United Kingdom |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial, Runnymede Air Forces Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flying Officer, 40054 | |
|---|---|---|
| Date unknown: | Involvement Royal Air Force , Flight Officer, 40054, No. 37 Squadron (RAF) |
Help us honour Oliver John Trevor Lewis's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Oliver James Lewis and Vera Ernestine Lewis, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Vickers Wellington IA N2889 LF-P 37 Squadron
Picked up early by an experimental German Freya radar on the island of Wangerooge and, in clear conditions, were scattered by accurate flak and then attacked by fighters. Twelve of the 22 aircraft which had reached the target area were shot down for 2 German fighters. This operation, together with an earlier and similarly disasterous operation on 14th December, had a profound effect on British bomber policy and did much to dispel the myth that bombers in a tight formation would always be safe from attacking fighters.
Thinks Her Flying
Son Still Alive
Mrs. Vera Lewis, of Broughton Road, Artarmon, believes that , her flying son is still alive. R.A.P. Flying Officer Oliver John Lewis, 24, has been reported missing by the Air Board "in an operation on December 18." On this date British aircraft made a daring bombing raid- on the Island of Sylt. He is an only son, and his engagement to the daughter of a bank manager at Liverpool, N.S.W., was to have been announced shortly. Mrs. Lewis believes that her son may be one of two R.A.F. men who were imprisoned by Germans after a forced landing on the Island of Borkum. In a letter to his mother. Flying Officer Lewis said he had been placed in charge of one of the new British bombers. He was trained at Point Cook, where he took a commission in the RAF., and left for England in June, 1937.