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Dowerin District Museum > Records
Not Forgotten, 121945 Aircraftman Class 1 Philip ETHERTON, Royal Australian Air Force, World War 2
Subcollections
Overview
Commemoration of the military service of 121945 Aircraftman Class 1 Philip Etherton accidently killed while serving, 15 July 1943 in the Northern Territory.
Historical information
Philip Etherton was born in Dane Hill in England on 2 August 1914, the son of Philip and Harriet Etherton and the husband of Philip Etherton enlisted on 29 December 1942 at Adelaide, South Australia and served in the No. 7 Repair and Salvage Unit at Pell in the Northern Territory. Philip Etherton was a mechanic prior to his enlistment. On 15 July 1943 Aircraftman Class I Etherton, a Fitter Driver Motor Transport, died from a bullet woundfrom the accidental discharge of a Thompson sub machine gun during aerodrome defence instruction. Philip Etherton is buried at Adelaide River War Cemetery.
Lola Etherton, Philip’s wife was the sister of Peter Colin Edwards, also killed while serving with the air foces during the Second World War.
Details
Details
Registration number
cwa-org-65-M106
Inscriptions and markings
When the Great War broke out in Europe in 1914, Dowerin was an isolated farming district, several days travel by horse or by coach from Perth. Over the succeeding four years at least 176 men and one nurse served in the armed forces of the Empire. The names of the men who served can be read on the Honour Roll in the Dowerin Town Hall or can be accessed on the museum section of the Shire of Dowerin website.
Fifty-one men from the district died in the Great War and their names are inscribed on the Dowerin War Memorial which was unveiled on ANZAC Day 1936. Subsequent conflicts have seen more names memorialised and each ANZAC Day their sacrifice is honoured and remembered by the community.
Contextual Information
For some years Diane Hatwell had been intrigued by the names on the Dowerin War Memorial. Some were familiar with the families still in the district but some not so. Diane felt It was important for the community that when we said each ANZAC Day “We will remember them”, we had some idea of who and what we are remembering. She set about, to find out who they were, what they were doing in the Dowerin district, and where and how they died. These pages presented through Collections WA represent the current state of this ongoing research and community response.
Geotag
-13.234147586974, 131.1128796857
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Adelaide River War Cemetery
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