DRAYSEY, Lloyd
| Service Number: | 417817 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 July 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 57 Squadron (RAF) |
| Born: | Kensington, South Australia, 23 November 1913 |
| Home Town: | Kensington, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | School Teacher |
| Died: | Flying battle - Air Raid over Germany, Germany , 6 November 1944, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Adelaide WW2 Wall of Remembrance, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Burra Fallen Soldiers Memorial, Burra High School Avenue of Memory, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial, Runnymede Air Forces Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flying Officer, 417817 | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Jul 1942: | Involvement Leading Aircraftman, 417817, Enlistment/Embarkation WW2 | |
| 18 Jul 1942: | Involvement Leading Aircraftman, 417817, Aircrew Training Units, Empire Air Training Scheme | |
| 18 Jul 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, 417817, Adelaide, South Australia | |
| 18 Jul 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 417817 | |
| 6 Nov 1944: | Involvement Flying Officer, 417817, No. 57 Squadron (RAF), Air War NW Europe 1939-45, 'Nothing heard after take-off - aircraft failed to return'. Circumstances unknown. |
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Flying Officer Lloyd Draysey was seconded from the RAAF to the RAF in 1942. Lloyd was amongst the crew of seven aboard Lancaster Bomber LN 624TX-8 which disappeared without trace over Western Europe on the 6th November 1944.
Their aircraft was part of Operation Gravenhorst and took off from East Kirkby airfield in Lincolnshire (England).Their mission was tasked to cut the junction of the Dortmund-Ems and Nittleland canal systems near Gravenhorst in Germany. They never returned and their aircraft has never been found.
Their Lancaster bomber was captained by Flying Officer Arthur Cooper RAAF (aged 28) who was born in Wallaroo. Eleven of the bombers in Operation Gravenhorst were lost on that same night.
Flying Officer Lloyd Draysey was born on 23 November 1913 in Kensington SA. He married Mary Maslen circa 1939. The couple had one son, Timothy Lloyd Draysey. Mary Draysey became a long time member of the congregation at the Knightsbridge Baptist Church.
Flying Officer Lloyd Draysey’s name is on the Burra War Memorial. He was a teacher at the Burra High School before the War. Lloyd’s name is also on a commemoration plaque inside the Knightsbridge Baptist Church in Leabrook SA. He is also listed at Runnymede UK.
On 6 November, a small ceremony was held in the Knightsbridge Baptist Church to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Lloyd’s death. Three of his Great Grandchildren, Lloyd Hugh Draysey, Morris Timothy Michael Draysey and Logan Lloyd Nikolas Kulas attended along with some other family members and friends.
There is now a continuity of the name Lloyd over four Draysey family generations.
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Ernest John and Sarah Ellen Draysey; husband of Mary Grace Draysey, of Hazelwood Park, South Australia.
Mrs. Mary Draysey, of May terrace, Kensington Park, has been officially advised that her husband, FO Lloyd Draysey, previously reported missing in air operations over Germany, must now be presumed to have lost his life on November 6, 1944.
FO Draysey was on the teaching staff of Adelaide High School at the time of his enlistment in 1942.
He leaves a widow and one son. He was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Draysey, of Esplanade, Henley Beach.
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