Studio portrait of 412160 Aircraftman, later Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) George Bruce Loder of ...

Accession Number P07869.001
Collection type Photograph
Object type Digital file
Maker Unknown
Place made Australia
Date made 1941
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Copyright

Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain

Public Domain Mark This item is in the Public Domain

Description

Studio portrait of 412160 Aircraftman, later Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) George Bruce Loder of Ryde, NSW, with his wife Betty. An accountant before enlisting in the RAAF in June 1941, Flt Lt Loder trained as a navigator under the Empire Air Traning Scheme (EATS) and was posted to 156 (Pathfinder) Squadron RAF at RAF Upwood, Cambridgeshire, England, where in November 1943 was recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for "skill & fortitude in operations against the enemy". Flt Lt Loder was listed as missing after his Lancaster, serial number JA674 (radio call sign GT-Q 'Q-Queen') failed to return from an operational sortie over Frankfurt, Germany, on the night of 20/21 December 1943. It was later determined that JA674 was shot down by German night fighters over Laubach, Germany, killing all seven crew members including Flt Lt Loder, aged 25.

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