| Accession Number | P04152.001 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | |
| Maker |
Henry Wilkinson |
| Place made | United Kingdom: England, Greater London, London |
| Date made | 1945 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) 423408 Kenneth Gordon Robertson, RAAF and No 97 ...
Description
Studio portrait of Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) 423408 Kenneth Gordon Robertson, RAAF and No 97 Squadron, RAF. Fl Lt Robertson is wearing his RAF dress uniform with his wings and the RAF Path Finder Force Badge below on his right hand side of his jacket. The award of the Path Finder Force Badge was formally awarded to Flt Lt Robertson on 22 May 1945 by the Air Officer Commanding the Path Finder Force. Born at Merungle Hill, NSW, in 1921, the son of an Australian Army Nursing sister and a 1st AIF soldier, met at Harefield Hospital, they became soldier settlers. Aged 18 when the Second World War commenced he served part-time with the militia No 56 Battalion at Leeton. He continued to serve with the militia until 1942 when he enlisted with the RAAF for aircrew training. Selected to become a pilot he completed his initial air training at Temora, NSW, he sailed to Alberta, Canada, to continue his instruction at the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) with the No 7 Service Flying Training School (7SFTS) at Macleod. After graduation as a pilot in July 1943, Robertson was selected for further training in the United Kingdom to become a member of the RAF’s elite ‘Path Finder Force’. He was then posted to No 97 (Path Finder) Squadron, RAF, based in Lincolnshire as a Lancaster pilot. He returned to Australia with the rank of flight lieutenant and was discharged in September 1945.