F/O. William J. Mawdsley
Royal Australian Air Force 23rd Operational Training Unit
from:Nathalia, Victoria, Australia
(d.2nd June 1942)
Bill Mawdsley was born in 1912 and became a school teacher. In early 1941 he took part in No 9 Course, No 4 Empire Flight Training Scheme at Mascot New South Wales. He was then posted to "Y" Depot, Halifax, Canada leaving his wife Lorna at home in Australia.
After arrival in England he was completing his training at the 23rd OTU at Pershore when he was sent with his crew as part of the second "Thousand Force" night raid to Essen in Germany. He was in command of a Wellington 1c bomber - No R1266-GZ and took off from Pershore at 23.05 and did not return from the mission.
Nothing was known of them until 8 years later when Dutch bulldozers excavated the plane with its dead crew. They had been shot down over Holland and crashed near the Terwindt Brickyard at Kerkdriel (Gelderland) on the west bank of the Maas and and some 13kms west-south-west of Oss in the neighboring province of Noord Braleant. It was thought that two of the crew had perhaps bailed out but not survived. He is buried with his crew at Uden War Cemetery.
