The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (409590) Warrant Officer Richard John Power, 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War

Accession Number PAFU2014/027.01
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 27 January 2014
Access Open
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Copyright Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
Creative Commons License This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
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.
Description

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 (409590) Warrant Officer Richard John Power, 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War.

Film order form
Speech transcript

409590 Warrant Officer Richard John Power, No. 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force
KIA 27 January 1944
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 27 January 2014

Today we pay tribute to Warrant Officer Richard John Power, who was killed 70 years ago today in 1944 on active service with the Royal Australian Air Force.

Born on 6 February 1941 in the township of Echuca on the Murray River, Richard Power grew up at the family's Barfold Estate in central Victoria. One of five children, he was the only son. Named after his father, he was known as "Jack" to his family.

His mother died when he was nine, and his sisters were placed in an orphanage while Richard was sent to Xavier College. A keen sportsman, he was a member of the school's First Eight and First 18 Australian Rules team. At just 17 years of age, he was invited to train with the Richmond Football Club in Victoria.

In September 1941, Power enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and soon commenced training as a pilot. During his time training at the No. 4 Service Flying Training School at Geraldton in Western Australia, Power and Leading Aircraftman Paul Edward Willoughby of Adelaide were flying an Avro Anson aircraft when the engine failed at 600 feet. Both men survived a forced landing.

On completion of his training as a pilot, Power embarked for England. As part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, Power was one of almost 27,500 RAAF pilots, navigators, wireless operators, gunners, and engineers who joined squadrons based in Britain throughout the course of the war.

In Britain he was posted to the Australian No. 460 Squadron. This was the most highly decorated Australian squadron in Bomber Command, and the one that suffered the highest number of casualties.

Flying Wellingtons and then Avro Lancasters, the squadron lost over 1,000 men: Australians, Britons, Canadians, New Zealanders and South Africans. Almost 600 Australians from 460 Squadron are listed here on the Roll of Honour.

In 1943, Power and his crew flew in the Lancaster "G for George", currently displayed in ANZAC Hall here at the Australian War Memorial.

On 27 January 1944, 18 Lancasters of 460 Squadron - including the one piloted by Power - took part in a raid on Berlin. Three of the squadron's aircraft failed to return, including Power's. His was shot down and crashed into a field near the town of Stuecken, 25 miles south-west of Berlin. None of the aircraft's seven crew members - five Australians and two Britons - survived.

Power's remains were recovered and he is buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 Commonwealth War Cemetery.

After the incident, the commanding officer of 460 Squadron wrote to Richard's father that Richard "was a very popular member of the squadron and had carried out his duties in an extremely conscientious manner".

Power's name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with some 40,000 Australians killed in the Second World War. There is no photograph in the collection to display 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 Warrant Officer Richard John Power, and all of those Australians - as well as our Allies and brothers in arms - who gave their lives in service of their nation.

  • Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (409590) Warrant Officer Richard John Power, 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War (video)