Arthur Matthew Aitken

Arthur Matthew Aitken

AWM PO 1405.022
Personal Information
Date of Birth	9 Jan 1920
Place of Birth	Narrogin, Western Australia
Death	9 Sep 1943
Age at Enlistment	21 years, 10 months
Address	Orchard avenue, Armadale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father , Mr Hugh Aitken
Military Information
Reg Number	415570
Date of Enlistment	30 Nov 1941
Rank	Flying Officer
Unit/Formation	No. 14 Squadron RAAF
Post War Details
Fate	Accidental death 1943
Monument(s)	Armadale War Memorial
Australian War Memorial	Australian War Memorial

Pre War

Prior to enlisting he was an accountant living with his parents in Orchard avenue, Armadale.

War Service

Arthur was the pilot of a Bristol Beaufort based (?) at Busselton, Western Australia. The plane left Busselton at 11:50am to carry out Patrol 'N', a clearing patrol from D'Entrecastreaux Point to Rottnest Island, then on to Pearce Airbase, due there at 4:30pm on 9 Sep 1943. At 2:30pm, the plane reported sighting MV Nordnes about 45 nautical miles (about 83km) due west of D'Entrecastreaux Point. The Nordnes' later reported that the plane appeared to be flying normally. The Bristol Beaufort was nick named "Flying Coffins' as more than 90 crashed due to a faulty assembly of the controls during construction.

5 Missing In Lost Aircraft PERTH, Wednesday. — Four members of the RAAF and one Army officer are reported missing as the result of the loss of an aircraft off the coast of Western Australia on September 10. The men are: F/O A. M. Aitken, of Armadale (WA) ; F/O Cedric Sutton Richards, of Middle Park (Vic.) ; F/Sgt. Peter Douglas Hastle, of Mount Lawley (WA) ; F/Sgt. Alexander Emerson, of Camberwell (Vic.), and Captain Harry Donald Kolbigof, of Adelaide.

Pilot of Beaufort A9-317 that took off from Busselton RAAF base on a seaward clearing search from D'Entrecasteaux Point to Rottnest Island. Four crew. Son of Hugh and Minnie Louisa Aitken .

Sydney Memorial

Arthur is commemorated on Panel 5. The Memorial is located in a corner of the Rockwood Cemetery west of Sydney. It is one of several which commemorate men of the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Merchant Navy who lost their lives in the south-west Pacific region during the 1939-45 War, and who have no known grave. The men commemorated on the Sydney Memorial were lost in the eastern and southern regions of Australia and in adjacent waters south of Latitude 20 degrees South.

Notes

Information from an ABC story sourced to Pamela Harrison - https://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2015/09/14/4312085.htm accessed 30 Oct 2019.