Riley, William Eric
Personal Information
Rank | F/O |
Forename(s) | William Eric |
Surname | Riley |
Gender | M |
Age | 25 |
Date of Death | 26-06-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Charles William and Grace Muriel Riley, of Greenslopes, Queensland, Australia. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Vickers Wellington X |
Serial Number | HF544 |
Markings | HD- |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Netherlands |
Burial/Memorial Place | Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Plot 69. Row B. Coll. grave 16. |
Epitaph | HIS DUTY TO HIS KING AND COUNTRY NOBLY DONE |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 232 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 414960 |
Service | Royal Australian Air Force |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 466 (Australian) |
Trade | Navigator |
Country of Origin | Australia |
Other Memorials
Location | Junction of Ketelmeerdijk and Elandweg, Dronten, Flevoland Province |
Country | the Netherlands |
Memorial Type | Paal (Pole) & information panel |
Memorial Text |
In 2014 werden ter hoogte van deze herdenkingspaal de laatste restanten van een tweemotorige
Translation "In 2014 at this Memorial post the last remains of a twin-engine Vickers Wellington HF554 of 466 Sqn RAAF was recovered from Ketel Lake." |
Location | Normandy Barracks, Leconfield, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Metal Sculpture Brick Pillars and Inscribed Sqn Badges |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those who flew from RAF Leconfield, including 640 Sqn |
Location | Memorial Gardens, North End Park, Driffield, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Memorial |
Memorial Text | A memorial to the men and women of 462 and 466 Sqns RAAF who served in Bomber Command during WW2 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1925/14 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1925/13 |
Fellow Servicemen
Please note that this list gives all the losses aboard the quoted aircraft and occasionally these may have occurred on an earlier date when the aircraft was not itself lost. Please check the dates of death carefully.
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 25-06-1943 |
End Date | 26-06-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Leconfield |
Day/Night Raid | Night (38% moon) |
Operation | Gelsenkirchen. 473 aircraft, 30 losses (6.3%). The first raid in around two years on this Ruhr town. Cloud cover and unserviceable Oboe equipment in 5 of the 12 Mosquitoes meant that the target was not well marked. As a result the local report puts the number of buildings destroyed at just 24. 16 deaths on the ground. Some nearby towns were hit in error, particularly Solingen with more people being killed there than in Gelsenkirchen itself. A good illustration of the dependency on PFF marking for raid success. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed in the Ijsselmeer near Urk, Holland |