Sub Lieut A.T.O. Mann

G'day all,

I know that Mann was killed in a flying accident on Nov 29, 1916. What I don't know is what Squadron was he with and what was the type/serial number of his machine.

There is no record in Henshaw's or Sturtivants book of his fatal flight, and his record at the AWM does not shed any light on the subject. Is he in Hobson's book?

I do know he flew seaplanes, and was killed in France. I would gues Dunkirk, but it is a guess.

A hint for his squadron would be that he took part in the first air raids on the Kiel Canal.

Thanks in advance,

Andrew.

Hi Andrew
I don't know if this will help you at all, but his entry at the Commonwealth War Graves site (http://www.cwgc.org) shows the following:

Alfred Thomas Osborne Mann
Flight Sub-Lieutenant
who died on
Wednesday 29th November 1916 Age 26

No. 3 Wing. Son of Mr T.E. Mann of 163 Phillip St., Sydney, Australia

Cemetery: Luxeuil (or Luxeuil-les-Bains) Communal Cemetery, Haute-Saone, France
Grave: 9

Checking my atlas, Luxeuil-les-Bains (and the department of Haute-Saone) are in the corner of France which is quite close to the Swiss and German borders. Nearest large town appears to be Besancon.

Hope this is of some small use to you.

Liz Milne

[errolmartyn]

Andrew,

Hobson states, under alpha section, "MANN, Flt Sub Lt Alfred Thomas Osborne, 3 Wg, pilot. Native of Sydney, NSW, age 26. Kwf 29.11.16. Buried at Luxeuil, France."

and, under chronological section, "29.11.16, Flt Sub Lt A T O Mann, 3 Wg. Kwf in Strutter, WF."

Regards,
Errol

The American editions of CROSS AND COCKADE (Volume 4 issue 1 and Volume 5 issue 4) have articles on No.3 (Naval) Wing which might yield the information you seek.

Liz,

Thanks very much for the CWG reference, I am quite familiar with the site, it is good to see that they have increased their search field from 100 responses to 1000.

Errol and Hugh,

Thank you for the information. All I need to know now is the serial number of the machine he was in.

Errol good to see a Kiwi on the forum, even if you blokes are cleaning the Aussies up in the cricket.

Andrew.

Re Mann; I can't help with the serial, but have extra data. Mann's name appears in the Honour Roll in 1918 issue of OUR ALMA MATA, the annual mag. of St Ignatius/ Riverview College, Lane Cove.
Probably a run -down of his service and loss in the 1916 or '17 issue. Should list his father as , say, eminent lawyer/ solicitor. [Cutlack says, from Randwick/ Mt Wilson. City home, country estate= upper crust professional family.]
This 'family firm' could still be in existence. Find them, find nephews etc, find letters, photos, log book, and lettter from C/O telling rellies about their loss and the plane he was flying. Only 24Manns in Syd area today, hordes elsewhere.
Bet you have been there already, though.

G'day Neville,

Thank you for the information. I found a wonderful article on Mann in the Sydney Morning Herald.

I am in the process of chasing relatives of the RNAS Australians now. I have found a few relo's and the ones I have contacted so far have been a great help.

Regards,

Andrew.