Richard embarked from Sydney on the 18th of September 1941, arriving in San Francisco on the 7th of October to attend No. 14 Service Flying Training School at Aylmer, Canada.
From Richard's Casualty file on naa.gov.au: He was engaged in bombing and strafing gun positions at Klundert in Holland, flying as Blue 1. He was hit by flak and turned back towards his base. He died attempting a forced landing in a field 10 miles west of Tilburg, when his aircraft struck a tree on approach, tearing off a wing and causing it to turn over. He was initially buried in Turnhout Cemetery, Plot 1 Row 4 Grave 2 but was re-interred in Bourg Leopold, Plot 2 Row D Grave 15, in 1946. He was flying Spitfire PZ517.
Compiled by Vince Conant
January 2014 – The Spitfire Association
