Clement Ralph Buckeridge was born on 10 april 1920 in Wilton in Wiltshire, England. He was the son of George Hewett and Grace Marion Buckeridge. His family moved to Australia were they settled in Bundamba, Queensland.

Clement was a carpenters assistant when he joined the Royal Australian Air Force in Brisbane on 17 august 1941.

After training he was sent to England where he joined 460 squadron RAAF as an bomb aimer.

Not much is known about his time with 460 squadron.

 


 

460 Squadron

On 15 June 1943, Flight Sergeant Clement Buckeridge and his crew boarded Lancaster DV160 for a mission against Oberhausen. This would be their third operation.

F/S Buckeridge's crew consisted of:

Sgt Roger Ernest Crook
Sgt J.R. Morrison RAAF
Sgt Stanley Joseph Marriage RAAF
Sgt Clement Ralph Buckeridge RAAF
Sgt Charles Edward Grimshaw
Sgt Gordon William George Fletcher
Sgt Donald Ross Grant RAAF

They took off from their base at Binbrook at 22.57 on 14 June 1943.  They were shot down by a night-fighter crashing at 02.21 at Schellingwoude (Noord Holland) in the North East suburbs of Amsterdam.

After the war, Sgt Morrison stated that he was near F/S Buckeridge when the plane was attacked. F/S Buckeridge said he could not open the escape hatch after the plane was hit. Shortly after that, the plane exploded mid air and Sgt Morrison was thrown clear of the plane and opened his parachute. Only Sgt. Morrison survived to be taken PoW. Sgt Morrison was interned in Camps 9C/L6/L4 as PoW No.42783.

The rest of the crew are buried at Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery. 

Flight Sergeant Buckeridge is buried at the Nieuwe Oosterbegraafplaats in Amsterdam Plot 69. Row B. Coll. grave 11.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

See Also:
Sgt Roger Crook
F/S Stanley Marriage
Sgt Charles Grimshaw
Sgt Gordon Fletcher
F/S Donald Grant

Sources:
Australian War Memorial
CWGC Website
460 Squadron crew list
 

Directions to Nieuwe Oosterbegraafplaats


If you have any suggestions, comments or additional information, please contact me.

This website is dedicated to the men and women who died and/or are buried in The Netherlands during World War II.

 

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