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. |
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 SSSiljan, a Norwegian ship which sailed from Fremantle to Falmouth, England. IN England he was apprenticed to the West Hartlefird Steamship Navigation Co. and as a cadet travelled on a large cargo ship to North and South America. On Land he was married to Jean Sharpe, born 1914, with one child and 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 U Boat patrols of the Bay of Biscay. On 3 Aug 1942 Claude's crew of six members of hte 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.[1] & [2]
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.