3 New Streets In Blayney Named After Wwii Dead, Two RAAF Personnel Remembered

[Brendan Cowan]

From the Blayney Chronicle:

War dead will be remembered
Tim Kelly
Friday, 7 July 2006

Three new streets in Blayney township have been named after World War II servicemen who died on active service.

The three streets in the Highlands subdivision off Athol Street will be known as Lovejoy, Meek and St Vincent-Walsh Streets. Blayney Council continues, with this decision, its policy of naming new streets after local service people who were killed in action.

Lovejoy Street is named after Sergeant Douglas John Lovejoy who crashed his RAAF aeroplane accidentally near Tallow Beach on the north coast of NSW while returning from an operational flight. He was 21 at the time of his death. He was the son of Blayney residents Stanley and Margery Lovejoy.

Private Douglas Rupert Meek died as a prisoner of war during the Sandakan death march across Borneo. He was 26 at the time of his death in March 1945 and a corporal in 2/20th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force.

Another RAAF member Pilot Officer Standish Locksley St Vincent-Walsh was killed in action over Germany while flying with the Royal Air Force's 149 Squadron in July 1941. Prior to the war he worked as a jackaroo in the Blayney district.

[Dean]

Sgt Douglas John Lovejoy was a member of 32SQN flying Hudson A16-198 on 7 Jul 42 when they failed to return. The crew were:

Flt Lt Robert Thomas Trigg 467 (Pilot)
Sgt Douglas John Lovejoy 403752
Sgt Gavin Athole Laurie Mclaren 406859
Sgt Gordon William George Ridge 416231
Sgt David Leslie Bradley 30650
Lac Edward George Kimmins 22537
Lac William Edwards Evans 24493
Lac Harold Wilmot Johnstone 24775
Lac Frederick Albert Charles Wood 24672
AC1 Edward George Merefield 25767

Their aircraft crashed into the sea off Tallow Beach between Broken Head and Byron Bay, NSW.

[Brendan Cowan]

Thanks Dean,

I just knew somehow that you'd kick in with some extra detail!

Well done!

:D

BC

[Dean]

Hmmm, thats means I am too predictable. I may need to change that.

[gordon]

Predictable Dean, ;-)

Do u know why there were so many souls in the Hudson which usually had a crew of 4? I would have thought on an operational flight they would just have the operational crew of 4. Seems like they were transporting people. Do u know any more?

Also they were a long way from their base airstrip of Horn Is with detachments at Pt Moresby and most southern one at Townsville. Byron Bay area is a long way south of all those places. Do u have any idea why it was in that place?

I note that a fortnight later F/L Manning of 32 Sqn discovered the Japanese landing at Buna - a significant finding as events were to prove.

Gordon

[Dean]

Hi Gordon,

It seems the aircraft was on a flight from Horn Is to Amberley but it is possible they missed Amberley due to low cloud and attempted to continue south to Evans Head. Not much more info is known on this one (by me) but wreckage from the aircraft was accidentally found by prawn fishermen around 1998/99. Whether at this time the wreck was previously unknown it is hard to say however my information is that the remains of the crew were not recovered and the wreck is now a war grave.