CAMERON, William Beauchamp
| Service Number: | 24908 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 February 1941, Brisbane, Qld. |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 30 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, 19 February 1917 |
| Home Town: | Thallon, Balonne Shire, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Toowoomba Grammar School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Station Overseer |
| Died: | Accidental, East coast of Australia, 2 July 1943, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Sydney Memorial (Sydney War Cemetery) Rookwood, Thallon War Memorial, Toowoomba Grammar School WW2 Honour Board, Toowoomba Roll of Honour WW2, Toowoomba WW2 Roll of Honour Book, Toowoomba War Memorial (Mothers' Memorial) |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Sergeant, 24908 | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Feb 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 24908, No. 30 Squadron (RAAF), Brisbane, Qld. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Kenneth Beauchamp Cameron and Eileen Mary Cameron, of Thallon, Queensland
Flight Sergeant William Cameron was a Navigational Instructor of 30 Squadron and member of the crew of a No 5 Operational Training Unit, Forest Hill, New South Wales, Beaufort Bomber A9-126 that crashed whilst on a non-operational cross-country navigational exercise between Moruya and Mallacoota on 2nd July 1943. The aircraft departed from Forest Hill in New South Wales at 0650 hours on 2nd July 1943 for Nowra. The aircraft landed at Nowra at 0742 hours and departed Nowra for Mallacoota via Moruya. The aircraft was observed over Moruya and was last seen flying in a south easterly direction out over the sea at a very low altitude. Aircraft was presumed to have been lost in the sea. At the time of his death William Cameron was 26 years of age. He has no known grave and therefore his name is commemorated on the Sydney Memorial to the Missing. An inquiry was held into the loss of the aircraft and the six crewmembers and the following report was submitted to the Air Board on 19th August 1943:
Beaufort A9-126. The aircraft was reported missing on a non-operational training flight on the 2nd July 1943. It is assumed that although the visibility was good there were a few scattered showers and it is most probable that the pilot flew into an area of reduced visibility and endeavoured to maintain contact flying by pushing the control column forward, then due to the slow reaction did not stop the aircraft’s descent before it struck the sea. This type of crash would inevitably cause fatal injuries to all passengers. Another natural assumption is that the pilot may have been merely indulging in low flying contrary to orders, and, due to straight forward error of judgement, struck the sea with fatal injuries to all aboard. However, the pilot was a very steady type of airman, conscientious, with just average ability, and therefore it is considered that the first given reason is in all probability the most accurate.
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