Anson AW-878 of 2 Air Observer's School (2 A.O.S.) took off from Mount Gambier airfield in South Australia at 0800L hours on 15 February 1944 to carry out a radius of action navigation exercise. They were to fly from Mount Gambier to Douglas Point, radius of action to Lady Julia Percy Island, radius of action to Douglas Point and then back to Mount Gambier. At 1230L hours by which time the aircraft had not returned to base, overdue signals were sent out. At 1300L hours a search was carried out over the route of the exercise and at 1430L hours part of the main plane of the aircraft was sighted on Lady Julia Percy Island. A fishing boat searched in the vicinity of the island that evening and passed through small pieces of wreckage strewn over about 3 miles. A further search by boat was carried out the next morning in the same area which resulted in the recovery from the sea and the island of the port and starboard wingtips, the port aileron, the door to the gunner's cockpit, portion of a main spar, the top cover of a fuel tank bay and a Mae West. The top cover of the fuel tank bay had the number AW-878 in pencil on the underneath side and the Mae West was identified as having been drawn and signed for by Flight Sergeant MacLellan on 15 February 1944. The bodies of the 4 crew members were never located. Those crew members presumed to have lost their lives in this tragic accident were: Flight Sergeant James Henry MacLellan (410684) Pilot; Flight Sergeant Dennis Leslie Baulderstone (416712); LAC Norman Thomas Kruck (433368); and LAC Brian Carter Ladyman (436921). Environment Geology Formed some seven million years ago, the island is much older than other volcanoes in the region, and is also unusual in being built by both submarine and terrestrial eruptions. It provides exposures of internal volcanic structure, including a volcanic vent. Six successive lava flows can be seen in the coastal cliffs. It is Australia’s only off-shore volcano and the only large basalt island off the coast of western Victoria. Lady Julia Percy Island is considered part of the Newer Volcanics Province — this polycyclic volcano erupted in two phases, at 7.80 ± 0.08 Ma and 6.22 ± 0.06 Ma Flora With regard to the flora, Frederic Wood Jones said in 1936 of the