WILL, Alexander Harold
| Service Number: | 420093 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 October 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Waverley New South Wales, 23 July 1923 |
| Home Town: | Middlesex, London, United Kingdom |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Greece, 26 January 1944, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Phaleron War Cemetery, Athens, Greece 7.C.19 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flying Officer, 420093 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 420093 |
Help us honour Alexander Harold Will's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by peter tacon
Born : 20 July 1923 at Waverley in New South Wales, Australia.
Parents: Matthew Gloag Will and Gladys Muruel Will (nee Dunn)
Sibling : Thomas Matthew Will
Religion : Church of England.
Spouse : Alice Will of 7 Mornington Crescent, Cranford, Hounslow, Middkesex, England.
Enlisted : 10 October 1941 at Sydney
Embarked : 22 May 1942 for overseas duty.
Unit : RAAF attached to RAF ME.
Posting : 227 Squadron.
Mustering : GD.
Plane : Beaufighter JL708.
Rank : Flying Officer.
Discharge : Killed in Action.
Burial : Pharelon War Cemetry , Greece Grave 7.C.19
On the 20th. August 1942 Beaufighter jets stationed at Malta were formed into 227 squadron and the unit moved to Egypt, Libya and Italy. Between 1942 and 1944 the squadron was on anti-shipping and maritime reconnaissance patrols in the Meditteranean Sea.
At 0848 hours on the morning of 26th. January 1944 four Beaufighters took off from their base at Berka 111 in Benghazi, Libya on a routine patrol. Alexsnder Harold , pilot, and Brian Findley , navigator, were the flight officers aboard JL708 bound for Kalamata in Southern Greece.
Scouring the seas below, they spotted a caique anchored at the small bay of Limeni at about 1017. Wanting to have a closer look the plane slowly began to drop altitude. They were met with a barrage of fire from German anti- aircraft positions and the plane failed to pull out of a dive. Both flying officers lost their lives when the plane crashed into the Gulf of Koroni just off Acropolis.
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