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FLTLT Howard Charles Lester 400147

Hurricanes 185 Sqn RAF at Hal Far 1941
Squadron/s605 SQN RAF
185 SQN RAF
Rank On Discharge/Death Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT)
NicknameChuck
Date of Birth29 Oct 1916
Date of Enlistment23 Jun 1940
Contributing Author/sPhil Listemann (The History of 457 Squadron) and David Hamilton
Updated by Vince Conant July 2013
The Spitfire Association

Chuck was born on the 29/10/1916 in Adelaide, SA and enlisted on the 23/6/1940. He was posted to No 605 and fought in Malta before being transferred to No 185 Squadron.

Chuck was severely wounded on 18/3/1942 and repatriated. He never fully recovered from his wounds. He was discharged 15/11/1945 from No 7 RAAF Hospital.

Chuck Lester's RAAF personnel file has not been digitised and is unavailable for research purposes so personal information is limited. He fought in the grimmest days of the war; being seriously wounded in March 1942. It is hard to convey here the desperate conditions that prevailed at the time. We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to men like Chuck – God Bless Him!

Phil Listemann (The History of 457 Squadron) and David Hamilton
Updated by Vince Conant July 2013
The Spitfire Association



Learn more about the squadron/s in which Howard served.

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