Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Leslie John Anderson and Florence Anderson of Toowoomba, QLD

Prior to enlisting he was employed as a general Clerk by Toomaroo Pty. Lt, Toowoomba, QLD

Plane was Halifax HG 345 which crashed after bombing a target in Berlin.

On the night of 28th January 1944, the aircraft in which your son was Navigator, took off to carry out an attack on enemy territory. This flight represented one of the many courageous efforts called for from the Royal Australian Air Force in this war, and it was undertaken with efficiency and resolution, for which your son’s crew was noted in the Squadron. Unfortunately, the aircraft did not return. The most searching enquiries through all possible channels have so far revealed nothing but naturally it will take some time for possible information to reach this country from enemy sources. Meanwhile, we can only hope that Pilot Officer Anderson and the other members of his crew are prisoners of war. If any further news should come through, you will be notified immediately.

Mr and Mrs L.J. Anderson, of Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, have been officially notified that their only son, Pilot Officer Leslie Dean Anderson, previously reported as missing as a result of air operations on the night of January 28, is now reported to have lost his life. The official intimation set out that a report received from the International Red Cross at Geneva, stated that, according to German information, Pilot Officer Anderson lost his life. Pilot Officer Anderson was one of a crew of a Halifax bomber which took part in an attack on Berlin on the night of January 28, from which he did not return. He had taken part in eighteen operational flights, and this was the second occasion on which he had taken part in the bombing of the German capital. He gained his wings in Canada and had two years’ service with the Air Force overseas. Pilot Officer Anderson, a former Toowoomba Grammar School boy, was twenty years of age.