BUCHANAN, Malcolm Stjernqvist
| Service Number: | 414641 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 November 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | No. 78 Squadron (RAF) |
| Born: | Gympie, Queensland, Australia, 28 December 1912 |
| Home Town: | Goomboorian, Gympie Regional Council, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Goomboorian Primary & Gympie High, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Fruit Grower |
| Died: | Flying Battle, United Kingdom, 21 November 1944, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, North Yorkshire, England Section H, Row C, Grave 9 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Goomboorian & District WW2 Roll of Honour, Gympie WW2, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Lieutenant, 414641 | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Nov 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, 414641, Brisbane | |
| 8 Nov 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 414641 | |
| 22 Sep 1944: | Honoured Distinguished Flying Cross | |
| 21 Nov 1944: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 414641, No. 78 Squadron (RAF) |
From the Australian War Memorial
Malcolm Stjernqvist Buchanan was born at Gympie, Queensland on 28 December 1912. Buchanan enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 8 November 1941 and undertook his basic training in Australia, at Sandgate, Lowood, Temora and Mallala. He transferred to England in mid-December 1942, where he converted to the Handley Page Halifax, and was assigned to 78 Squadron.
He was awarded the DFC after an action on the night of 18/19 July 1944, when he was part of a force of 62 aircraft (51 Halifaxes, 9 Mosquitos and 2 Lancasters) which attacked a flying bomb launch site at Acquet in France. After this action Buchanan was admitted to hospital with first and second degree burns. He returned to 78 Squadron after recovering. On the night of 21 November 1944, piloting Halifax MZ 810, and returning from an operation against a synthetic oil refinery at Sterkrade on the Rhine in Germany, Flight Lieutenant Buchanan was lining up to land when his aircraft hit trees and crashed in the centre of the wood at Spaldington. The entire crew was killed. Malcolm Stjernqvist Buchanan is buried at Stonefell Cemetery at Harrogate, Yorkshire.
Submitted 21 November 2020 by Elizabeth Allen
Biography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Malcolm Stjernqvist BUCHANAN was born in Gympie, Queensland on 28th December, 1912
His parents were Malcolm BUCHANAN & Ada May STJERNQVIST
He enlisted with the Royal Australian Air Force in Brisbane on 8th November, 1941
He died in a Flying Battle in England on 21st November, 1944 in a Halifax MZ810 Aircraft whilst serving in the 78 Squadron of the RAF - he is buried in the Stonefall (Harrogate) Cemetery in Yorkshire & his name is memorialised on the Australian War Memorial
Malcolm was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 22nd September, 1944
---------------
His brother Allan Eric BUCHANAN (SN Q25497) also served during WW2 (Army) with the 47th Infantry Battalion and was discharged in 1946
Click images to start slideshow.