| Place | Europe: United Kingdom, England, Greater London, London |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | SUK10345 |
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | |
| Place made | United Kingdom: England, Greater London, London |
| Date made | 24 July 1942 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Group portrait of Australians who took part in a recent BBC "Anzac Hour" programme broadcast from ...
Description
Group portrait of Australians who took part in a recent BBC "Anzac Hour" programme broadcast from London. Included are 2104 Flying Officer (FO) George Prosser, of Melbourne, Vic, RAAF (second from left); 402575 FO Les Oliver DFC of Sydney, NSW, RAAF (third from left); 400364 Squadron Leader (Sqn Ldr) James (Jim) Catanach DFC of Geelong, Vic, 455 Squadron RAAF (centre); 404766 Pilot Officer (PO) Kevin James Murphy, 455 Squadron RAAF (right). With them is Malcolm McEachern (Jetsam) of Albury, NSW. Sqn Ldr Catanach was one of 50 Officers massacred at Gorlitz in March/April 1944 after his escape from a tunnel at the North Compound, Sagan. he had been interned since his aircraft, Hampden AT109 took off from RAF Sumburg at 2040 hours on the night of 4/5th September 1942 for Vaenja, Northern Russia, via Afrikanda. The aircraft was holed in the petrol tanks by ground fire and the Captain force landed at Kirkness (Northern Norway) without damage to aircraft or crew. PO Murphy was navigator bomb aimer on Hampden X3140 which took off from RAF Leuchars at 1330 hours on 26 January 1943 to carry out an armed recce off the Norwegian coast. Eleven aircraft from the Squadron took part in the mission and of these X3140 failed to return. Air sea rescue searches were carried out but no trace of the missing aircraft or crew was found.