Clayton, William Thomas (Flying Officer, b.1914 - d.1989)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of 423447 Flying Officer William Thomas Clayton, 463 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Canada and the United Kingdom, 1943-1945.

Wallet 1 of 1 - Contains two folders of material relating to Flying Officer William Thomas Clayton.

Folder 1 of 2 consists of two log books of Flying Officer Clayton. The first log book contains entries dated between 29 April 1943 and 11 May 1945. It covers the period of Flying Officer Clayton’s training in Canada and England, service as a bomb aimer with 463 Squadron, and time as a bomb aiming instructor. This log book records details such as dates and times of flights, aircraft types and numbers, pilots, and purposes of flights. Some of the recorded purposes of flights include bombing and gunnery training, navigation training, operational training, aircraft conversion, bombing operations over Germany and France, and air bombing instruction. This log book also contains examination results for training courses completed by Flying Officer Clayton. The second log book is a partial copy of the first, containing entries dated between 29 April 1943 and 10 February 1944.

Folder 2 of 2 consists of one paybook of Flying Officer Clayton, containing entries dated between September 1944 and September 1945. This paybook records details such as rates of pay, earnings, next of kin, and medical history.

Flying Officer William Thomas Clayton enlisted to the Royal Australian Air Force on 20 January 1942. After a period of training in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, Flying Officer Clayton served with 463 Squadron as a bomb aimer. With this squadron, he participated in strategic bombing operations on targets in Germany and France. After his tour of operations, Flying Officer Clayton served as a bomb aimer instructor with 1654 Conversion Unit, based in England. He was discharged on 13 September 1945.