GEAPPEN, James Townsend Thorpe
| Service Number: | 31289 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 July 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Leading Aircraftman |
| Last Unit: | RAAF Ground Training Schools |
| Born: | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 9 August 1908 |
| Home Town: | Hobart, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Ground Battle, Milne Bay, Milne Bay, Papua, Papua New Guinea, New Guinea, 29 August 1942, aged 34 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Port Moresby Memorial, Port Moresby, Papua, Papua New Guinea |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Port Moresby (Bomana) Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement 31289 | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jul 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 31289, RAAF Ground Training Schools | |
| 24 Jul 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 31289 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
RAAF rescue boat (crash launch) 08-5 operated by Number 43 Operational Base Unit (43OBU) was sunk by enemy fire at Milne Bay, PNG with crewmen Corporal Harry Turner 11854 RAAF and LAC John Townsend Thorpe Geappen 31289 RAAF killed
AC John Francis Donegan 41879 RAAF survived after drifting across Milne Bay with his life preserver (in the water for 18 hours). He came ashore, was tended by natives and picked up by launch and then to hospital on the mainland for his wounds to be treated.
On board were 2 AIF signallers attached to provide comms: Signalman Fred Newman WX29017 was killed in the incident / Signalman Gerald Neild Farrar WX29006 / WXM6468 survived but he died in an accident in July 1943 at Geraldton, WA