The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (406702) Flight Sergeant Raymond Clarence Stuart, No. 467 Squadron RAAF, 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (406702) Flight Sergeant Raymond Clarence Stuart, No. 467 Squadron RAAF, Second World War.

406702 Flight Sergeant Raymond Clarence Stuart, No. 467 Squadron RAAF
KIA 17 April 1943
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 9 February 2014

Today we remember and pay tribute to Flight Sergeant Raymond Clarence Stuart of the Royal Australian Air Force.

Raymond Stuart was born on 9 May 1921 to Clarence and Rosalie Stuart of Fremantle, Western Australia. He went to Fremantle Boys' School and the Perth Modern School before attending the University of Western Australia. After completing a correspondence course in accountancy with Hemingway & Robertson of Melbourne, Stuart became a clerk in the Commonwealth Taxation Department. He was a keen sportsman and played tennis, football, cricket, and rugby, and enjoyed swimming and rowing.

Stuart enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 3 March 1942. After a preliminary period of training in Australia, he left Sydney for the United Kingdom in mid-May. Once Stuart qualified as a pilot he was posted to No. 467 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force, in which he was made pilot of a Lancaster bomber with a crew of seven.

On 17 April 1943 Flight Sergeant Raymond Stuart was piloting a Lancaster on a bombing operation against the Skoda works in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. They never returned. Very little is known about the fate of Stuart's Lancaster; however, he and his crew were listed as dead and buried by German authorities, and their graves were discovered in France after the war. It was assumed that their aircraft was shot down on the way to the target area. Raymond Stuart had been with his squadron just two months. He was 21 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with around 40,000 others from 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 Flight Sergeant Raymond Clarence Stuart, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.