The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (407415) Pilot Officer Roy Arthur Drew, 112 Squadron RAF, Second World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial every day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Charis May, the story for this day was on (407415) Pilot Officer Roy Arthur Drew, 112 Squadron RAF, Second World War.


**Due to technical issues this recording is of poor quality and not for public display.**

407415 Pilot Officer Roy Arthur Drew, 112 Squadron RAF
Presumed dead 17 June 1942
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 3 August 2013

Today, we remember and pay tribute to Pilot Officer Roy Arthur Drew.

Roy Drew was born in Peterborough, South Australia, and was working as a hairdresser and tobacconist at the outbreak of the Second World War. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in June 1940 and underwent a period of training during which he successfully completed the No. 7 pilots' course, passing as a sergeant pilot with proficiency.

Drew was eventually posted to No. 112 Squadron of the Royal Air Force and sent to the Western Desert flying Kittyhawks. There, in his 70 sorties, often over difficult targets, he proved to be a "courageous and determined pilot" who regularly "set an inspiring example". In May 1942 Drew's courage in action led to a Distinguished Flying Medal. The citation for this award states that he:
...led a formation of fighter and bomber aircraft in an attack on a concentration of tanks and motor transport. On arrival over the target area he ordered all aircraft to orbit out of range of fire from the ground defences while he dived through the barrage to 1,000 feet to identify the target. Having done so, he released a bomb which fell in the centre of the enemy vehicles as an aiming point for the other bombers. In a subsequent attack he led the bombers through the barrage, releasing his bombs and using his machine guns most effectively.

On the morning of 17 June 1942 Roy Drew was flying in a formation of seven aircraft from an airbase in Libya. Drew had some difficulty taking off, and did not succeed in getting his aircraft aloft until several minutes after the others had left. He flew alone to the target, a group of enemy troop carriers in the desert. He was seen as he arrived there, but this was the last sighting of him or his aircraft. He was not seen to be in any further difficulties with his aircraft, and it was assumed that it was shot down by the enemy. After various efforts to trace the fate of Drew after the war, including investigation of a grave in the desert rumoured to be Drew's, the Air Force informed his mother that "all hope of finding him alive must be abandoned".

Had he returned from that last sortie, Drew would have received the notification of his commission as a Pilot Officer. He was desperately missed. In 2010, more than 65 years after Roy's death, his 96-year-old cousin, Norm Drew, spoke fondly of him with a tear in his eye.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with more than 40,000 others from the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Pilot Officer Roy Arthur Drew, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.