Wing Commander Alexander (Noel) Constantine

Alexander (Noel) Constantine.

Noel Constantine was a Royal Air Force pilot. After retiring from the armed services in December 1946, he began to fly in the Netherlands East Indies.

On 29 July 1947, Noel Constantine was transporting medical supplies to Indonesian republican fighters.  His plane was shot down by Dutch forces as it approached Yogyakarta, killing Constantine, his wife Beryl, the Indonesia Air Force’s Agustinus Adisucipto, Abdul Rahman Saleh and Adisumarno, co-pilot Roy Hazlehurst (British), flight engineer Bidha Ram (Indian) and Zainal Arifin (Indonesian consul in Malaya). The only survivor was Abdulgani Handokotjokro.

A monument stands at the site of the incident Ngoto, and July 29 is commemorated as Hari Bakti (Day of Consecration) by the Indonesian Air Force.