KING, Leon Newman
| Service Numbers: | 434344, NX136680 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 November 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 80 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Katanning, Perth, Western Australia, 29 September 1922 |
| Home Town: | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical College, New South Wales (1938-39) |
| Occupation: | Telephone Mechanic |
| Died: | Prisoner of War - Executed by the Japanese, Talaud Islands, Netherlands East Indies, 23 March 1945, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia Plot 3. Row C. Grave 6. Local Roll of Honour - Canberra, ACT |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Sergeant, 434344 | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Nov 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX136680 | |
| 12 Nov 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 434344 | |
| 12 Nov 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman 2 (WW2), 434344, No. 3 Initial Training School Sandgate | |
| 16 Jan 1944: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant | |
| 16 Jul 1944: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant | |
| 21 Dec 1944: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 434344, No. 80 Squadron (RAAF), Air War SE Asia 1941-45 | |
| 13 Jan 1945: | Imprisoned Air War SE Asia 1941-45 |
Help us honour Leon Newman King's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
During a ferry flight from Noemfoor Island to Morotai Island on the 13th of January 1945 four Kittyhawk aircraft from Number 80 Squadron RAAF ditched into the sea near Karakelang and Maroh Islands in the Japanese-held Talaud Islands group
Flight Sergeant Ronald Wilford Parry 434265 in Kittyhawk A29-668 was not located and he is commemorated on the Ambon Memorial
The other three pilots were captured by the Japanese and made prisoners of war (POW); they were executed on 23 March 1945 at Beo in the Talaud Islands - Flight Sergeant Leon Newman King 434344 (A29-653), Warrant Officer Peter Waters 410186 (A29-630) and Flying Officer Francis Lawrence Hann 411448 (A29-508)
Following a war crimes trial in 1946 seven Japanese officers were sentenced to death for complicity in the murders of the three men
Click images to start slideshow.