PAUL, William
| Service Number: | 423870 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 July 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 467 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, 12 May 1924 |
| Home Town: | Grafton, Clarence Valley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Lost on operations-mid air collision between two Lancaster bombers, France, 16 July 1944, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lignieres-de-Touraine Communal Cemetery One of 15 graves of the crews of two Lancasters which collided and cashed near the town on 16 July 1944, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial, Maryborough No. 3 Wireless Air Gunners' School Memorial Wall |
Biography contributed by John Edwards
"...423870 Aircraftman (later Flight Sergeant) William Paul, 467 Squadron RAAF, of South Grafton, NSW. Flt Sgt Paul was killed on operation on 16 July 1944, aged 20 years, and is buried at Lignieres-de-Touraine Communal Cemetery, France. He was killed when two Lancaster aircraft crashed after one had been hit by flak and gone out of control. Fifteen airmen died in this crash and the people of the town of Azay-le-Rideau requested permission for them to hold a service for these men, after which they were buried in the local cemetery. When the war ended the townspeople requested that the bodies of the airmen remain there, rather than being reinterred in a military cemetery; they undertook to look after the graves and hold a memorial service annually." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
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