The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (412714) Flying Officer Michael O'Meara Shanahan, 156 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (412714) Flying Officer Michael O'Meara Shanahan, 156 Squadron RAF, Second World War.

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

412714 Flying Officer Michael O'Meara Shanahan, 156 Squadron RAF
KIA 3 September 1943
Photograph: P003545.001

Story delivered 3 September 2013

Today, we remember and pay tribute to Flying Officer Michael O'Meara Shanahan of Pathfinder Force, Bomber Command.

Michael Shanahan was born in July 1913 in New South Wales. He worked in oil companies before the Second World War and married Patricia in November 1940. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in July 1941 and after training was granted a commission in April 1942.

Shanahan, like many Australian pilots during the Second World War, was seconded to the British Royal Air Force to fight in Europe against Nazi Germany. While he was gone, he received regular letters from Patricia which often included photographs of his growing baby daughter.

Shanahan proved to be an able pilot and was promoted to Flying Officer in the Royal Air Force. He flew in 156 Squadron, which initially played the role of a medium-bomber squadron, flying Wellingtons. In August 1942, the squadron underwent a change in role, becoming one of the four founding squadrons of Pathfinder Force.

Navigation during air operations over Germany had been an ongoing problem for the RAF. A report in 1941 concluded that less than one in three bombers got within five miles of the target, and far fewer scored a direct hit. Pathfinder Force was created to change that by using elite crews with superior navigation skills to guide the main bomber force onto the target.

Aircraft like Flying Officer Shanahan's Lancaster, flying from 156 Squadron's home airbase at Warboys, England, would use cutting-edge technology to navigate to the target, and then drop flares and other incendiary devices from a low height to direct the other bombers. It was incredibly dangerous work that required a high degree of skill.

On the 3rd of September 1943 Shanahan's squadron was assigned the task of marking targets in Berlin for a force of 316 Lancasters. Twenty-two Lancasters were lost in the operation, including the one flown by Michael Shanahan and the seven others in the crew. Their plane was lost without trace.

Michael Shanahan was a loyal family member and was sadly missed by his extended family, and particularly by his wife and his daughter, who grew up without knowing her father. He was just 30 years old when he was killed in action, and is commemorated on the Royal Air Force memorial at Runnymede in England, and here.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with more than 40,000 others from the Second World War, and his photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Flying Officer Michael O'Meara Shanahan, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.