Community & Business
12 May, 2025
Air Force Chief visits gravesite of World War II serviceman in the Netherlands
Australian Air Force Air Marshal Stephen Chappell visited the gravesite of Oakey serviceman Sergeant Mervyn Hass in Eindhoven, Netherlands during his trip to Europe.
During the visit, Chief of Air Force also thanked Mr Erik Adriaensen and his wife Christine, who tend to Australian aviator graves at Eindhoven
“We adopted the graves of a Ventura bomber from which the crew got killed during the so called Operation Oyster or as we call it ‘sinterklaas bombartment’,” Mr Adriaensen said.
“The main reason why we do this to honor these boys who gave their lives for our freedom. Lest we forget and we should be ashamed the way we live today with war and destruction.”
Mervyn Lionel Vivian Hass was born in Oakey on May 16, 1915. He grew up in the town, attended Oakey State School, and went on to work as a cream grader with the Oakey Co-operative Butter Association.
Hass first enrolled in the RAAF reserve in February 1941 at a mobile recruitment centre in Toowoomba.
He was later called up, and enlisted in the RAAF on 20 July. After initial training, he began training as an air gunner, attending wireless/air gunner school in Parkes, and bombing and gunnery school at Evans Head.
Promoted to sergeant, he received his air gunner’s badge on 1 May 1942, and the following month embarked at Sydney, bound for overseas service.
As part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, he was one of almost 27,500 RAAF pilots, navigators, wireless operators, gunners, and engineers who, throughout the course of the war, joined Royal Air Force squadrons or Australian squadrons based in Britain.
According to Aviation Heritage Museum records he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on July 20, 1941 and joined unit No. 464 Squadron, RAF Station Feltwell, Norfolk.
He was killed in the Netherlands during an attack on the Phillips Radio valve factory in Eindhoven on December 6th 1942, in which all four crew members (Flight Officer Maurice Moor, Flight Officer Nathan Cohen, Pilot Officer Sidney Venneear and Sergeant Hass) died.
Sergeant Mervyn Hass was remembered at the Last Post Ceremony on June 2nd 2021 at the Australian War Memorial.
Research on Sergeant Hass’ service was compiled by Duncan Beard who is an editor in the War Memorial's Military History Section.
