Warrant Officer BATES, WILLIAM VOSS Service Number 410296 Died 07/03/1945 Aged 34 Royal Australian Air Force Son of Frederic Micheal and Jessie Flora Bates; husband of Mary Gwen Bates, of Redcliffs, Queensland. Casualty Commemorated at LABUAN MEMORIAL Location: Malaysia Number of casualties: 2315 Cemetery/memorial reference: Panel 32.
Crash./crew details: Crash of a Consolidated PB2B-1 Catalina into the Pacific Ocean: 9 killed | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives
DARWIN, NT. 1944-08-20. CREW OF NO. 20 SQUADRON RAAF CONSOLIDATED CATALINA A24-95 VIEWING THE ... DARWIN, NT. 1944-08-20. CREW OF NO. 20 SQUADRON RAAF CONSOLIDATED CATALINA A24-95 VIEWING THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY AN EXPLOSIVE BULLET THAT PASSED THROUGH A FUEL TANK MISSING FUEL AND OIL LINES ON THEIR FIRST MISSION. LEFT TO RIGHT: BACK ROW: 19805 SERGEANT DONALD KELWAY (DON) STORRIE (1ST ENGINEER); FLIGHT SERGEANT RON BLACK (2ND PILOT); 419457 FLIGHT SERGEANT JAMES REGINALD (REG) CLEWORTH (NAVIGATOR); 417318 FLIGHT SERGEANT ROSS SCHULZ (CAPTAIN AND PILOT); MIDDLE ROW: 65674 SERGEANT BILL ROWE (2ND ENGINEER); 410296 WIRELESS OPERATOR 'SNOW' BATES, WIRELESS/AIR GUNNER; FLIGHT SERGEANT FRED ROBINS, A PASSENGER PILOT ON THE TRIP FOR EXPERIENCE; FRONT ROW: 67895 SERGEANT ALFRED RUSSELL (RUS) JONES; WARRANT OFFICER WILLIAM VOSS (SNOW) BATES (1ST CREW); 73252 SERGEANT WALTER (SCOTTIE) SCOTT (2ND CREW). ALL THE ABOVE WERE KILLED IN ACTION 7 MARCH 1945 EXCEPT BLACK AND ROBINS WHO SURVIVED THE WAR. (DONOR: J R CLEWORTH) Darwin Area, Northern Territory. The crew of No. 20 Squadron RAAF, Consolidated Catalina A24-203 ... Darwin Area, Northern Territory. The crew of No. 20 Squadron RAAF, Consolidated Catalina A24-203 which, under the command of Pilot Officer Ross Schulz, failed to return from a mission to the Pescadores Islands on the night of 7 March 1945. Identified, left to right, back row: 410296 Warrant Officer (WO) William Voss 'Snow' Bates, of Redcliffe, Qld, aged 34 years; 73252 Sergeant (Sgt) Walter Douglas 'Scottie' Scott, of Rozelle, NSW, aged 20 years; 68674 Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) William Alan (Bill) Rowe, of Merewether, NSW, aged 32 years; 67893 Sergeant (Sgt) Alfred Russel (Rus) Jones, of South Murwillumbah, NSW, aged 21 years; 19805 Sergeant (Sgt) Donald Kelway (Don) Storrie, of Wagga Wagga, NSW, aged 25 years. Front row: 419457 Warrant Officer (WO) James Reginald (Reg) Cleworth, of Sandringham, Vic, aged 22 years; 412995 Warrant Officer (later Pilot Officer [PO]) Malcolm Oswald 'Ron' Merrett, of Cremorne, NSW, aged 24 years; 417318 Warrant Officer (WO, later Pilot Officer [PO]) Ross William Schulz, of Meadows, SA, aged 21 years, and 405902 Flying Officer (FO) Keith McClement Caulley, of Gympie, Qld, aged 22 years. None of the above crew have any known grave and are all listed on the Labuan Memorial in Saba, Malaysia. Donor J R Cleworth.