A Memorial to RAAF Bomber Crews 1939 - 45
This publication expands upon the Australian War Memorial brochure
G for George, written in 1981 by Peter Burness, Head Curator of Military
Heraldry and Technology at the Memorial. It aims to give the reader some
insight into a remarkable story, which follows this aircraft from England
and Germany across the world to Australia, where it flew as a fund raiser
and morale booster for the folks back home. It is the story of just one
of the thousands of Lancasters that played there party in winning the war
in Europe.
All those who have seen it on display in Canberra are struck by it's huge,
black presence. George remains an icon for Australians, not because it
was seen as particularly special in its time (although it was), but because
it has survived as a tangible reminder to us of that time. It was there:
it flew over Europe in the desperate air battles from late 1942 to 1944;
it bombed Berlin, Essen, Frankfurt; it was shot at and hit by enemy guns.
Fear, sorrow, anger and elation were felt by the diverse range of personalities
who coexisted within its fuselage. And were it not for blind chance and
the skill of its crewmen and those who maintained it, it would have gone
down to destruction, as did thousands of others.
They were a brave lot: Or the Australians alone, Some fifty of those who
flew operations in George were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (including
three twice over), some twenty the Distinguished Flying Medal, and several
received both. Two were awarded the Distinguished Service Order as well
as the DFC. As a morale booster, George itself was (unofficially) awarded
the DSO, Conspicuous Gallantry Medal and DFM. But they were also ordinary
men, who had volunteered for service and found themselves in an extraordinary
time and place. They wrote letters home which spoke of a bright future,
made touching and tragic, when for some families back home, the letters
stopped; in their place, an official telegram from the war office. They
played pranks and got drunk at the local English pubs. Many had not driven
a car, but were expected to put an over-laden four-engined bomber into
the air and bring it safely home. Many had not voted, but were ordered
to drop bombs on densely populated cities, endangering their own lives,
while the lives of six other friends or strangers depended just as surely
on their actions.
George's wartime role, to play its part in the defeat of Nazi Germany and
then to bring to Australia the message that the war was winnable, has been
replaced. Its four Merlin engines are un likely to splutter into life again.
Today it serves more silently as a stepping stone to contemplation of the
deeds of those who served, especially the tens of thousands of aircrew
who died in the Allied bombing campaign.
3,500 RAAF men died while operating with RAF Bomber Command. 460 Squadron
RAAF alone lost 1,018 men, and 200 aircraft in three years of operations.
Michael Nelmes
Published
by:-
Banner
Books,
122
Walker Street,
Maryborough,
Queensland,
4650
Australia.
E
mail:- bannerbk@satcom.net.au