Claude Dominic Hemy
From Our Contribution
 | |
 Plaque on Lovekin Drive, Kings Park | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 11 Sep 1911 |
| Place of Birth | Fremantle, Western Australia |
| Death | 3 Aug 1942 |
| Place of Death | Bay of Biscay |
| Occupation | Merchant seaman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Next of Kin | Wife , Mrs Jean Hemy |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 104519 |
| Rank | Pilot Officer |
| Unit/Formation | No. 51 Squadron RAF |
| Post War Details | |
| Fate | Killed in action 3 Aug 1942 |
| Monument(s) |
Kelmscott War Memorial Runnymede Memorial, England Commemorates airmen for whom there is no known grave. WA State War Memorial |
| Australian War Memorial | Is not listed on the Memorial |
| Medals |
1939-45 Star Atlantic Star War Medal 1939-45 |
Pre War
Aged 15, Claude joined the merchant navy as a cabin boy on SS Siljan, a Norwegian ship which sailed from Fremantle to Falmouth, England. In England he was apprenticed to the West Hartleford Steamship Navigation Co. and as a cadet travelled on a large cargo ship to North and South America. In December 1938 Claude married Jean Sharp (1914 - 1982) and they had one child pre war. He had secured a job with a large power station suppyling Newcastle-on-Tyne.
War Service
Served with the RAF Volunteer Reserve as a Navigator. At the time of his death, he was a member of No. 51 Squadron RAF, a part of Coastal Command, based at RAF Station Chivenor in Devon . Their primary role was to carry out anti submarine patrols of the Bay of Biscay. On 3 Aug 1942 Claude's crew of six members of the RAF were in Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley Serial Number Z9119, MH-G. They were presumed to have been shot down By 2 Arado 196s About 130 Miles Southwest of Lands End, Cornwall during an Anti Submarine Warfare Patrol, as a large explosion was seen by other aircraft.
British records needed.
Claude's name is on Panel 70 of the Runnymede Memorial.
Notes
Claude's uncle, Mr Vincent Weir Hemy served in the British Merchant Navy aboard SS Wellpark as a 4th Engineer during WW2 and had died as a Prisoner of the Japanese on 15 Aug 1942, aged 55.