| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | SUK10985 |
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | |
| Place made | United Kingdom |
| Date made | c June 1943 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Portrait of 413221 Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) Francis Edwin Mathers RAAF, pilot of 77 Squadron ...
Description
Portrait of 413221 Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) Francis Edwin Mathers RAAF, pilot of 77 Squadron RAF, from Pagewood, NSW in front of a Halifax aircraft. Limping home over the North Sea after being crippled by flak while bombing Mulheim on 22 June 1943, a Halifax aircraft piloted by Mathers destroyed a Messerschmitt Me110, shot down by the rear gunner Sgt William F Speedie. The aircraft suffered further damage when it made a wheels-up landing at Martlesham Heath.
For his devotion to duty on this operation Flt Sgt Mathers was immediately awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM), the only one to a member of 77 Squadron, and soon after commissioned as a Pilot Officer (PO). The rear gunner, Sgt. Speedie , and the Wireless Operator, Sgt Edward G O French, were both awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. PO Mathers and his crew were shot down and all killed on a raid on Mannheim on the 6th September 1943, they are buried at Durnbach, Germany. Mathers was aged 21 at the time of his death.