April 23, 2026
A tragic traffic crash which killed three military personnel during World War II will be remembered on Anzac Day at Kingaroy’s Taabinga Cemetery.
The three – Aircraftwoman Dorothy May Ward, 27; Aircraftman James Hope Paynter, 19; and Private Leslie Thomas Stout, 24 – died after their Jeep and a cream truck collided on the Kumbia Road on January 21, 1943.
(This is probably the Bunya Highway, which was narrow and gravel at the time.)
Aircraftwoman Ward was thrown from the Jeep and killed instantly, while Paynter and Stout died from their injuries the same day in Kingaroy Hospital.
The RAAF personnel were based at 3 Initial Training School, Kingaroy, while Private Stout was with the 2/103 General Transport Company.
The four other occupants of the Jeep – two WAAAFs, an RAAF Sergeant and another Army Private – were also injured and taken to Kingaroy Hospital.
A passenger in the cream truck was also injured.
An inquest into the three deaths held shortly afterwards in Kingaroy was told a 3″ 5/16 bolt was found embedded in one of the Jeep’s tyres after the crash.
It was suggested the sudden deflation of the tyre may have caused the vehicle to start swerving and hit the truck.
The road crash victims were buried in the Defence Section at Taabinga Cemetery on January 22-23.
On Saturday morning, the three will be remembered during the annual pilgrimage to the war graves at Taabinga Cemetery organised by members of the Kingaroy-Memerambi RSL Sub-Branch.
Poppies will be laid on the more than 60 war graves at Taabinga Cemetery.
The pilgrimage, at 8:00am, will follow the Dawn Service in Memorial Park at 4:28am.
- External link: Kingaroy Herald & Nanango News, May 20, 1943; Page 2
- Related article: Anzac Day Around The Region
