In caelum indicum primus ...First in Indian skies
No.910489, Flight Sergeant (W/Op-Air Gnr), Lionel Beaumont KNIGHT
Aged 25
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Lionel Beaumont Knight was born in 1918 (Maidstone Q1-1918 2A:1287), adopted son of Arthur and Jane Serjeant (née GOURD), of Fordham. In 1939 Arthur [15-11-1874] a bricklayer and Jane [22-12-1877] were at Ice Farm, Carter Street, Fordham (2 closed records) |
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31 Squadron was almost exclusively in the Far East from the time of its formation in 1915. With the Japanese invasion of Burma, the squadron carried casualty
evacuation missions and re-supply sorties. Dakotas were received in April 1942 and used alongside the DC2s until the later were finally retired in May 1943
. For the remainder of the war, the squadron was involved in supply dropping to the 14th Army. The squadron operated from Agartala fron June 1943 to November 1944.
No.31 Sqdn Douglas Dakota I ser.no. FD811 CB-V, crashed at Khargpur on 8/1/1944: A regular feature of 31's flying life was the 221 Group Mail Run from Khargpur to Calcutta. The run for 28th January (1944), ended in disaster. Flying Officer Tom W Townley, known as "Chota", took off in FD811 at 6 am but crashed only minutes later. All aboard were killed:- crew 127138 F/O (Pilot) Thomas William TOWNLEY RAFVR R/103624 W/O (Pilot) Donald Ashley THOMPSON RCAF 1251927 F/Sgt (W.Op./Air Gnr.) Albert James WALLIS RAFVR 1628223 AC2 Arthur James MILES RAFVR 31 passengers aboard included 129253 F/O (Nav./B) George Edward BESWICK RAFVR 910489 F/Sgt (W.Op./Air Gnr.) Lionel Beaumont KNIGHT RAFVR 552707 Cpl (W.Op./Air Gnr.) Ronald PARRY RAF plus 4 Americans All the RAF personnel are buried Ranchi War Cemetery. Colin on RAF Commands forum adds:- The Accident Card suggests that the pilot was inexperienced at night flying and that his skills might have been checked before he undertook a night take-off (0600 Hours local). The account of the loss also indicates that the pilot might not have been at his most alert as he had been partying the night before. The aircraft was flying a circuit of the airfield and was allowed to descend and strike the ground 8 minutes after take-off. Sadly this may have been another instance of routine dulling the senses, so many deaths occurred not due to enemy action, but to taking things for granted when not facing the enemy.
 photo from asiawargraves.com photo: Commonwealth War Graves Commission click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details |
