The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (429286) Warrant Officer William Bruce Judd, No. 207 Squadron, Royal 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 Troy Clayton, the story for this day was on (429286) Warrant Officer William Bruce Judd, No. 207 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Second World War.

429286 Warrant Officer William Bruce Judd, No. 207 Squadron, Royal Air Force
KIA 21 March 1945
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 24 September 2015

Today we pay tribute to Warrant Officer William Bruce Judd, who was killed on active service with the Royal Air Force in 1945.

Born on 16 September 1924 in Gladesville, New South Wales, William Bruce Judd was the son of William and Blossie Judd of Coogee.

As a young man Judd attended Drummoyne Intermediate School and Fort Street High School. A keen sportsman, he played hockey, tennis, basketball, and soccer. He was a strong swimmer, and also worked as a life saver.

Judd worked as a clerk for the Sydney County Council, and trained with the Air Training Corps at the Sydney headquarters. In November 1942, aged 18, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and commenced training as a wireless operator.

In November 1943 Judd embarked for overseas service. As part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, Judd was one of almost 16,000 RAAF pilots, navigators, wireless operators, gunners, and engineers who joined Royal Air Force units and squadrons in Britain throughout the course of the war. Arriving in Britain in January 1944, he undertook further specialist training before joining No. 207 Squadron, RAF, in January 1945.

The squadron was equipped with the four-engine Avro Lancaster heavy bomber. Judd’s crew was made up of a crew of five British airmen and an Australian pilot, Flying Officer Raymond Allen Lewis.

On the night of 20 March 1945 Judd’s crew was flying on its 11th operation, and was taking part in a raid on a synthetic oil plant at Bohlen, Germany, when the Lancaster disappeared without a trace. All souls on board were reported killed.

In a letter to Judd’s mother, the commander of No. 207 Squadron wrote that the squadron had lost one of its best crews. Judd, he wrote: had proved himself a capable and keen flyer. Your son was exceedingly popular with all the boys on the Squadron, and is sadly missed by every one of us. Our hearts go out to you in sympathy for your tragic loss … We all admire and honour the unselfish sacrifice your son made so far from his own country in the cause of freedom, and we are proud to have known him.

Judd’s body was never recovered, and his name and those of his crewmates are listed on the Air Forces Memorial overlooking the River Thames. The Runnymede memorial lists all British and Commonwealth airmen with no known grave. William Judd was 20 years old.

Judd’s name and that of his Australian crewmate Raymond Lewis are listed here on the Roll of Honour to my left, along with around 40,000 other Australians who died serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Warrant Officer William Bruce Judd, and all of those Australians who gave their lives for their nation.

Dr Lachlan Grant
Historian, Military History Section