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Beaufort Bomber A9-173 Air CrashPrint Page 
The monument commemorates Royal Australian Air Force Beaufort bomber A9-173 of 14 Squadron which crashed in March 1943 with the loss of eight crew. The bomber had left Geraldton on a coastal patrol mission to Carnarvor, but the pilot dediced to return to Geraldton due to fog, and on its return crashed into a hill.
Location
| Address: | Beaufort Close, Lot 9501 of Mount Erin Estate on Norman Burgess’s Carney Hill Farm, Narra Tarra, 6532 |
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| State: | WA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -28.603967 Long: 114.730289 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 15-March-1943 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 15-March-1943 |
| Link: | https://chapmanvalleyhistory.org.au… |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Sunday 20th April, 2003 |
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On an overcast morning on 15 March 1943 a Beaufort Bomber A9-173 left Geraldton for Carnarvon on coastal patrol. The plane was unable to climb above the fog and was returning to base when it crashed a 6:15am into the eastern side of the hill before you and was destroyed and the 8 airmen on board perished.
The airmen were buried at the War Graves Cemetery, Utakarra on 18 March 1943 and the plane removed by the RAAF.
When the Carney Hill Farm was subdivided and this road created it was named Beaufort Close in recognition of the 8 men who lost their lives whilst serving their country in this plane crash.
Those who lost their lives were :
Pilot Officer George Bishop (aged 22)
Aircraftman 1 Godfrey Carter (aged 34)
Leading Aircraftman Herbert Kilpatrick (aged 27)
Sergeant Charles Patching (aged 30)
Leading Aircraftman George Pedrotta (aged 32)
Sergeant Robert Redman (aged 23)
Sergeant Donald Waite (aged 23)
Sergeant Edward Watling (aged 30)
Further information in relation to this event, and the wartime and wider history of the Chapman Valley area can be found at the Chapman Valley Museum at Nanson.
