RAF - WW2 burials in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (Lutwyche military cemetery)

Dave Barlow · Sep 4, 2009

Lutwyche military cemetery here in Brisbane is the CWGC official burial site and features the Cross of Sacrifice and memorial scrolls for those with no known grave. It also has plaques with a bit of Australian WW2 history and statistics on the burials within it's grounds.

While I was taking photos I noticed that besides the Australian commemorations there were a couple of members of the ROYAL AIR FORCE interred there.

I have attached photos of their headstones and a bit of info - a lot more information is available on the ozatwar website, they have devoted a bit of space to the MID AIR COLLISION OF 2 SPITFIRES NEAR PETRIE ON 19 APRIL 1944

At 8:50am on 19 April 1944, three Spitfires of 548 Squadron RAF, took off from Strathpine airfield. Two of these Spitfires had a mid air collision near the Strathpine airfield just north of Brisbane. LF.VIII Spitfire A58-392 (JG342) collided with LF.VII Spitfire A58-393 (JG350). The two British pilots Wright and Chandler were both killed.

1319672 FSGT A.V. CHANDLER (PILOT) 19APR1944 – AGE 22 (ALAN VICTOR) 548 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

70834 SQNLDR W.H.A WRIGHT (PILOT) 19APR1944 – AGE 26 (WILLIAM HENRY ALEXANDER) R.A.F.(O). 548 Sqdn., Royal Air Force

liverpool annie · Sep 6, 2009

You've more than likely seen this Dave ... but thought I would post for others !

The memorial is a granite rock with bronze plaque. It commemorates two British pilots lost in a mid-air collision between two Spitfires during World War II.

From December 1943 until June 1944, R.A.F. Spitfire Squadrons 548 and 549 were based at camps in Strathpine and Lawton having been redirected from the Middle East to Australia by British Air Command. The two squadrons were piloted and commanded by R.A.F. personnel and serviced by R.A.A.F. ground support staff. On 1st June 1944 both Spitfire squadrons were sent to Darwin. They saw action in the Pacific before the end of hostilities in August 1945.

On 19 April 1944, three Mark VIII Spitfires of 548 Squadron took off in formation from the Strathpine A2 airstrip on a training flight. A short time later, a fourth single Spitfire also took off from the strip. At approximately 8.50 a.m., two of these aircraft were involved in a mid-air collision near Youngs Crossing and the two British pilots involved, Squadron Leader Henry Wright and Sergeant Alan Chandler, sustained fatal injuries. Both men were buried in Lutwyche Cemetery and a memorial has been placed near the site of the crash. Although the general facts concerning this crash are well known, many of the written and oral sources contain contradictory and confusing versions of the events. The most reliable information can be found in the Proceedings of the Court of Inquiry, Accident to Spitfires A58/392 and A58/393, Strathpine. According to the testimony of a number of witnesses at this Inquiry, whilst circling the Strathpine strip at an altitude of 4,000 feet, the three aircraft, under the leadership of Flying Officer James Melvin Hilton, noticed the fourth aircraft taking off. Following Hilton's lead, they all immediately determined to test the alertness of the pilot by mounting a feint attack and 'bouncing' the aircraft. To this end, they turned into the sun, straightened up when dead astern and then commenced a shallow dive to close in on the aircraft which was then at an altitude of about 2,500 feet and travelling in a westerly direction. At this stage, the identity of the pilot of the fourth aircraft (Squadron Leader Henry Wright in A58/393) was not known to any of the three pilots and the aircraft were not equipped with radio. All witnesses agreed that Wright appeared to be unaware of the presence of the other three aircraft and that Hilton's aircraft, followed by the second aircraft, successfully carried out the required manoeuvre by passing over the top of the target. The third aircraft (A58/392 piloted by Sergeant Alan Chandler), however, came into collision with Wright's aircraft. What happened after the collision is less clear. All witnesses to the Inquiry agreed, however, that Wright's aircraft appeared to continue on its course for some short length of time and that portions of Chandler's aircraft broke off following the impact. Parts of Chandler's aircraft were seen falling and his aircraft was last seen spinning towards the ground. One witness on the ground, a powder monkey camped with the Civil Construction Corps at Youngs Crossing, stated that parts of Chandler's plane had fallen off and that "the aircraft fell to the ground within a few hundred yards of where I was standing". Wright's aircraft, on the other hand, appeared to carry on in a westerly direction until it "dived into the Pine River and exploded immediately on impact". The first witnesses to arrive at the scene found Chandler's aircraft (A58/392) completely wrecked with his body pinned underneath. Wright's aircraft (A58/393) was totally submerged and some time elapsed before the pilot's body was recovered.

The depression adjacent to the memorial is the place where the aircraft piloted by Sergeant Chandler crashed. A section of ignition harness from the aircraft was set into the memorial but has since been removed.
Click to expand...

Spitfire Squadrons 548 & 549 Memorial

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RAF - WW2 burials in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (Lutwyche military cemetery)

Dave Barlow Member

Attached Files:

RAFChandler1.JPG

RAFChandler2.JPG

RAFWright1.JPG

RAFWright2.JPG

liverpool annie New Member

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RAF - WW2 burials in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (Lutwyche military cemetery)

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Dave Barlow Member

Attached Files:

RAFChandler1.JPG

RAFChandler2.JPG

RAFWright1.JPG

RAFWright2.JPG

liverpool annie New Member

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