A photograph of the grave of 411829 Sergeant John McDonald Rankin, 6 Advanced Flying Unit, who ...

A photograph of the grave of 411829 Sergeant John McDonald Rankin, 6 Advanced Flying Unit, who enlisted in Sydney, NSW, on 25 May 1941 and was accidentally killed in the United Kingdom on 21 August 1942. 25 year old Rankin was a pupil pilot of 21 year old Sergeant S E Downs (RAF) on board an Airspeed Oxford training aircraft (serial T1339) when the aircraft collided shortly after take-off with a Vickers Wellington bomber (serial T2257). The incident occurred at 5.10am in the pre-dawn light. Both Rankin and Downs were killed in the accident, with all six of the young aircrew in the Wellington. Rankin was buried in the Little Rissington (St Peter Churchyard), Gloucestershire, UK. He was the son of Donald Stephen and Ruby Augusta Rankin, of Longueville, New South Wales.