ANZAC Day 2018

25/4/2018

On this day we remember the three Australian crew lost aboard Lancaster ED559 on 4/5 March 1943.

F/O Harry Riding (Wireless Operator) — RAAF 403699 (Age 25)
F/O Errol C. Crapp (Navigator) — RAAF 411113 (Age 24)
Sgt Garnet W. Durdin (Rear Gunner) — RAAF 416149 (Age 25)

Between 1939 and 1945, 5397 Australian aircrew were lost in action over Europe. Gone but not forgotten.

F/O Errol C. Crapp (Navigator) -- RAAF 411113 (Age 24)

Sgt Garnet W. Durdin (Rear Gunner) -- RAAF 416149 (Age 25)

4 Comments

Duncan

25/4/2018 11:38:23 am

Thank you Craig, for the timely post. Anzac Day is just coming to a close here in Australia. The attendances at the Anzac Day commemorations in every town and city across Australia just keep on growing. Dawn services in particular are drawing larger crowds each year. This year we attended our local service here in Nelson Bay, very large crowd and very nicely done.
A Royal Australian Navy commodore presented the address, and told the stories of two young Australians. One a 17 year old in the Navy who was killed helping to defend his ship, and of course one 21 year old from Bomber Command who wrote a beautiful letter to his mother just before his aircraft was shot down. Very, very moving and demonstrates to us all, both young and old, why we should always remember them.
Keep up the good work.
Lest we forget

Duncan

25/4/2018 11:49:38 am

I should mention that I wore Harry Riding's medals at the Nelson Bay Anzac Service, and who should be standing near us, a chap and his wife who had just returned from a trip to the UK. He was wearing a souvenir Lancaster Bomber tee shirt he'd bought in England, simply because he's a Lancaster enthusiast. He became quite emotional and thanked me profusely when I showed him Harry's Air Crew Europe Star.
These services of Remembrance just bring out the best in people!

Molly

29/7/2018 09:50:47 am

Craig, was having a dig for photo of Errol Crapp.

As yet no luck but I think you could advertise in a local Uralla/district newspaper and might get lucky. I find if you write to the editor and ask them if they will do an appeal for you, explaining that it is in memory of someone killed in WW2, they are usually happy to help.

They may even let you do an article for the 75th anniversary year tho they have missed the actual anniversary.

His dad, Rev Arthur Frank was one of 10 or so children in Uralla and I think there are still a fair few locally.

He died in August 1954 and had 3 surviving children

Garth, Alan and Dorothy (Mrs K Walters) as of 1954

The family may be able to tell you who inherited Errol's bits and bobs and how to contact their children

Craig Alan Smith

21/9/2018 12:13:29 pm

Thanks Molly - I emailed the editor of the local newspaper and am awaiting any responses

ANZAC Day 2018

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