On the night of 8th / 9th September 1942 the crew of this 460 Squadron aircraft were tasked with flying an operational flight to Frankfurt and left base at 20.15hrs. The crew returned to base early at 23.15hrs after the rear turret and intercom both failed. The aircraft is recorded in the unit ORB as sustaining damage after making an "awkward" landing at Breighton airfield. Nothing more about this incident is yet known.
Pilot - Sgt Alfred Bertram Boyle RAAF (404713), of Springsure, Queensland, Australia.
Navigator - F/Sgt William Mervyn James Matchett RAAF (403396), of Grenfell, New South Wales, Australia.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Robert James Rogers RAFVR (1183329), of Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Norman Henry Simpson RAAF (401053), of St.Arnaud, Victoria, Australia.
Air Gunner - P/O Clifford Timothy O'Riordan RAAF (403397), of Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.
Wellington Z1494 was built to contract B.97287/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Hawarden, Chester and was awaiting collection in March 1942. It was received by 18 MU on 7th March 1942 and after a lengthy period of MU storage it was taken on charge by 460 Squadron at Breighton on 31st July 1942. As a result of this minor damage on 8th September 1942 Cat.A/FB was the result of the damage assessment but after repair on site it appears to have been immediately transferred to 142 Squadron at Grimsby on 16th September 1942. Days later on 29th September 1942 it was transferred to 18 O.T.U. at Bramcote who later moved with it to Finningley on 27th March 1943. In April 1943 it failed a major inspection so was taken for a repair in works at Doncaster. Once repaired it was taken to 8 MU on 28th July 1943 and placed in storage but was struck off charge on 19th November 1944.
On the night of 27th / 28th January 1943 P/O Matchett, F/Sgt Rogers and Sgt Simpson were flying in Lancaster W4817 on Ops to Dusseldorf. All were killed and initially buried in Monchengladbach but are now buried in Rheinburg War Cemetery. Norman Simpson was twenty one years old. He was born on 10th September 1921 in Essendon, Victoria and enlisted in Melbourne. William Matchett was twenty eight years old. He was born on 4th August 1914 in Grenfell, New South Wales and enlisted in Sydney.
Robert Rogers enlisted into the RAFVR in July 1940 and after initial training was posted to 27 OTU in November 1941. He was twenty two years old.
F/O O'Riordan was killed on 30th July 1943. He is buried in Becklingen War Cemetery and was thirty four years old.
Alfred Boyle was born on 10th August 1914 at Springsure, Queensland and was educated at Westwood State School and at Rockhampton High School and Technical College, he worked as a book-keeper, jackeroo and miner before enlisting in the RAAF on 8th November 1940. After basic training he gained his Wings in August 1941 and arrived in the UK soon after. He flew his first operational tour with a mixture of squadrons, 35, 51 and later 460 Squadron. He received his commission on 14th March 1943 and after completing his first Tour he was posted to instruct at 27 OTU until June 1944 when he was posted to 467 Squadron and begun a second Tour. He was awarded the DFC for service with 460 Squadron, Gazetted on 15th June 1943, the citation reads.. "A fine operational captain of aircraft, W/O Boyle has completed a large number of successful sorties over Germany, Italy enemy occupied France, including attacks on heavily defended targets at Berlin and Essen. On one occasion, during an attack on St.Nazaire, W/O Boyle's aircraft was struck by a falling incendiary, which ignited inside the fuselage during the bombing run. Nevertheless, this airman completed his attack before attempting to deal with the incendiary."
As Acting F/Lt he was awarded the Bar to the DFC, Gazetted on 23rd March 1945 for service with 467 Squadron. He ended the War having completed fifty one operational sorties and was posted to flying transport aircraft with 511 Squadron on shuttle runs from Britain to India and the Azores. He returned to Australia in 1946 and served as an air traffic control officer in Canberra until mid-1947, when he resumed flying duties. In 1950 he joined 11 Squadron, a maritime reconnaissance unit equipped with Lincoln and later Neptune aircraft. He was the pilot of Lincoln A73-30 undertaking a training flight on 20th June 1949 when the aircraft suffered an engine failure and was force landed in the region of 180 miles north east of Brisbane without injury to any of the four crew. Early in 1952 he piloted a Lincoln to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands to pick up a seriously injured airman. On the hazardous return flight to Perth, the aircraft’s radios and two of its four engines failed and he had no option but to make a forced landing. For his leadership, initiative and flying skill he was awarded the Air Force Cross. He was promoted to Squadron Leader on 1st January 1953 and after holding a number of staff appointments from 1954, he transferred to the Retired List on 11th August 1957. He worked as a senior officer at a reform institution for boys in Perth before finally retiring in 1979. He died on 29th May 1988 in Perth.