| Accession Number | SEA0213 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Negative |
| Place made | Burma |
| Date made | c 4 April 1945 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Akyab, Burma. By the light of an oil lamp, 432007 Flight Sergeant Thomas Kevin Francis Xavier ...
Description
Akyab, Burma. By the light of an oil lamp, 432007 Flight Sergeant Thomas Kevin Francis Xavier Leavey, RAAF of Summer Hill, NSW, navigator in No. 194 (Dakota) Squadron RAF supplying the Fourteenth Army in Central Burma, writes a letter home. Flight Sergeant Leavey died in a crash on 5 May 1945. According to as family memoir "On April 30, 1945 his Log Book records an abortive sortie in dropping supplies to Pyuntaza - they lost the port engine and had to jettison their load. Dakota KN 202 took off at 0455 hours on 3 May 1945 to land supplies at Payagyi (Burma). The monsoon season was just starting. A Squadron aircraft returning from an operational sortie reported seeing a Dakota aircraft believed to be KN 202 crashed on the ground near Payagyi. The search was abandoned and Kevin was officially presumed dead on 3 May 1945 which was the last day of the War - he was 20."