Accession Number | PAFU2013/100.01 |
---|---|
Collection type | Film |
Object type | Last Post film |
Physical description | 16:9 |
Maker |
Australian War Memorial |
Place made | Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Campbell |
Date made | 25 October 2013 |
Access | Open |
Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial![]() |
Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (405502) Flight Sergeant Walter Boscawen Ranclaud, 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War
The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each 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 (405502) Flight Sergeant Walter Boscawen Ranclaud, 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War.
**Due to technical issues this recording is of poor quality and not for public display.**
405502 Flight Sergeant Walter Boscawen Ranclaud, No. 460 Squadron, RAAF
KIA 4 April 1943
No photograph in collection
Story delivered 25 October 2013
Today we remember Flight Sergeant Walter Boscawen Ranclaud, who was killed during the Second World War on 4 April 1943.
Born in Toowoomba, Queensland, in December 1919, Walter Ranclaud was one of five children born to Ernest and Margaretta Ranclaud. Walter's father, Major Ernest Ranclaud, was a veteran of the Boer War and was decorated for service in the Great War.
Walter Ranclaud attended All Souls School, Charters Towers, where he participated in the cadets, and subsequently worked as a jackaroo. Following the outbreak of war, Ranclaud was called up for compulsory military training in May 1940, and soon applied to join the Royal Australian Air Force as aircrew.
In March 1941, three months after his 21st birthday, he was posted to No. 1 Bombing and Air Gunnery School (1BAGS) at Evans Head in northern New South Wales. On completing the course as an air gunner in mid-December, he was promoted to sergeant. In March 1942, Ranclaud left Australia for Britain. Promoted to flight sergeant, he joined No. 460 Squadron, RAAF, in late July.
No. 460 Squadron was to become the most famous Australian bomber squadron of the Second World War. It flew more sorties and dropped more bomb tonnage than any other squadron in Bomber Command. No. 460 Squadron also suffered the highest losses of any Australian squadron. Between 1941 and 1945, 581 Australians died serving with it.
Ranclaud joined the squadron, then based at Breighton, Yorkshire, just before it converted to the four-engine Avro Lancaster heavy bomber in October. As a mid-upper gunner, Ranclaud flew his first operation in a raid on Turin, Italy, in late November. Thereafter, he participated in many raids against targets in Germany and occupied Europe. On 3 March 1943 Ranclaud with flew in the Lancaster W4783, better known as "G for George", for a raid on Hamburg, Germany. But mechanical problems forced the raid to be abandoned after several hours.
On 4 April Ranclaud was flying in the Lancaster W4310 "C for Charlie" in a large raid on the naval headquarters at Kiel in northern Germany. They took off from Breighton shortly before 9 pm, but nothing else was heard of their Lancaster. When it failed to return, all seven members of its crew - five Australians, including Ranclaud, and two British - were posted as "missing".
Their remains were not discovered until after the war when it was established that their Lancaster had been hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed near Bordesholm between Munster and Kiel. All aboard were killed. Ranclaud was 23 years old. His remains, along with the other members of his crew, are buried in the Kiel War Cemetery.
The Lancaster "G for George", in which Ranclaud and many other men flew, is on display in the Memorial's ANZAC Hall as a tribute to those who served in Bomber Command. Flight Sergeant Walter Ranclaud is also commemorated on the Roll of Honour on your right, along with some 40,000 Australians who died during 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 Flight Sergeant Walter Ranclaud, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.