Personal Details
| Surname | Spence |
|---|---|
| First name | Thomas |
| Middle name | William |
| Date of birth | 14/01/1916 |
| Place of birth | Longreach, Qld |
| Date of death | 10/05/1946 |
Details
Thomas was the son of Thomas Alexander Spence and Lola Heap, born in Longreach.
Thomas William Spence and his cousin Thomas William Spence were grandsons of the well known pastoralist Thomas Spence of Rosedale Longreach, a resumption from Wellshot station which Thomas Spence selected in 1894.
[Source: kspence@powerup.com.au]
War Records
| Conflict | |
|---|---|
| Service | RAAF |
| Service number | 404266 |
| Date of enlistment | 19/07/1940 |
| Place of enlistment | Brisbane, Qld |
| Date of discharge | 16/09/1941 |
| Posting at discharge | 3 RAAF Hospital |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Prisoner of war | No |
| Source | www.ww2roll.gov.au |
| Notes | He joined the RAAF on 19 July 1940 but when it was discovered he was a diabetic, he was discharged on 16 September 1941, his rank at discharge was Sergeant and his posting at discharge was at 3 RAAF Hospital. Thomas William Spence went on to join the Australian National Airlines and advised that his medical discharge from the RAAF was for a minor complaint and when he returned to Australia from Canada he found he had been cured. On 10th March 1946 Tom was the Chief Pilot of the Australian National Airlines DC47 airliner which crashed into the sea off Seven Mile Beach near Cambridge Airport, Hobart, Tasmania a few minutes after take off killing all 21 passengers and 4 crew members. |