John William NEWELL
Year of Birth: 1917
Place of Birth: Herberton, Queensland, Australia
Date of Enlistment: 13 September 1940, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Australian Defence Force: Royal Australian Air Force
Rank: Flight Lieutenant
Unit(s): No. 5 Operational Training Unit
Service Number: 404543
Died: 5 March 1945
Age: 27 years
Buried: Cairns War Cemetery – Plot A – Row C – Grave 16
Photo – Australian War Memorial
John’s parents were William Graham and Adeline Purvis (Smith) Newell of Mareeba, North Queensland, born 8 June 1917. He was the grandson of John Newell who was the first mayor of Herberton and a partner in the Jack and Newell firm.
John attended the Mareeba State School then went to Brisbane to the Brisbane Grammar School. After his enlistment in the RAAF he served overseas for three and a half years.
He was a Mosquito pilot and pilot instructor at Williamtown (RAAAF Base). John (Jack) Newell was returning home on leave to Mareeba after recently returning from England. He had been provided with a Home Leave Pass from Newcastle (NSW) to Mareeba (Qld), which was his home address.
Flight Lieutenant John (Jack) William Newell was killed, along with Major-General G.A.Vasey, Major-General R.M.Downs, Lieutenant Colonel G A Bertram O.B.E, Flying Officer D J Bassett, Flying Officer F B Frieze, Flying Officer G Thompson, Corporal R L James and Lac J D Moore, when their R.A.A.F. aircraft crashed into the sea at Machans Beach, Cairns.
John William Newell’s name is on Mareeba Roll of Honour board and also located at panel 112 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial.
Online Resources
NAA: A705, (NEWELLJohn William) National Archives of Australia
Department Veterans’ Affairs Nominal Rolls
National Library of Australia: Trove Digitised Newspapers
Queensland Registrar of Births Deaths & Marriages
If you have a photograph or further information about this soldier you would like to share and add to his biography, please contact the Society at projects@cdfhs.org or leave a comment below. Thank you!