Trench art cigarette lighter : Flying Officer N C Williams, RAAF

Trench art cigarette lighter attached to a brown Bakelite stand. The lighter has been made from a .50 Calibre Browning machine gun cartridge case the base of which has been drilled out and a screw-in base added for attachment to the stand. A wick made of cotton wool and other fibres has been inserted into the case with the projectile removable for this purpose. A flint has been fixed to the side of the case.

Associated with the service of Flying Officer Neville Cropton Williams. Williams was born in Croydon, NSW on 10 December 1922 and was a railway depot clerk on enlistment in the RAAF on 12 August 1941. Posted to No 2 Initial Training School at Bradfield Park for preliminary training Williams began his pilot training at No 10 Elementary Flying Training School, Temora on 25 June 1942. He continued pilot training at No 6 Service Flying Training School, Mallala until February 1943 when he was posted to No 6 Central Flying School, Tamworth.
Williams passed the No 23 Elementary Flying Instructors Course on 26 March and as a qualified flying instructor was posted to No 8 Elementary Flying Training School in Narranderra NSW.

On 4 June 1943 Williams was involved in a serious training accident. As the pilot of a De Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth A17-91he was giving dual low flying instruction to his pupil, 426478 Leading Aircraftman Timothy Michael Donnelly. During a turn the port mainplane struck the ground followed by the port wheel, engine, starboard wheel, and starboard mainplane.

Williams sustained cerebral concussion, an abrasion to his forehead, shock and a fractured spine. Donnelly received an incised wound to his chin and shock.

The aircraft was extensively damaged with the cause of the accident given as poor judgement, poor technique and a lack of experience on behalf of Williams. In the six months prior to the accident Williams had flown a total of 287 hours with 149 hours on Tiger Moth aircraft.

Requiring prolonged hospitalisation at both Narranderra and Wagga Williams's spinal injury prevented him from active service overseas. However he recovered well enough to fly again and returned as an instructor to 8 Elementary Flying Training School on 16 August. He was posted to No. 3 Wireless Air Gunners' School, Maryborough on 23 December and completed the No. 2 A.3 High Altitude Course at Bradfield Park in April 1944. He finished the war seconded to the RAF at Mascot as a Flying Officer. He was discharged from the RAAF on 17 December 1945.

After the war Williams joined Trans Australia Airlines in 1946 and flew DC3s and DC4s until 1958 when he was discharged because of continuing pain relating to his back injury. Going into the printing business in the early 1960s, Williams had to retire in 1977 because of continuing chronic back pain. He became a Veteran's Totally and Permanently Incapacitated pensioner the same year.

Williams passed away in 1999.