The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (406022) Squadron Leader Hugo Throssell Armstrong DFC & Bar, No. 611 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (406022) Squadron Leader Hugo Throssell Armstrong DFC & Bar, No. 611 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Second World War.

406022 Squadron Leader Hugo Throssell Armstrong DFC & Bar, No. 611 Squadron, Royal Air Force
KIA 5 February 1943
Photograph: SUK10439

Story delivered 4 July 2016

Today we pay tribute to Squadron Leader Hugo Throssell Armstrong, one of Australia’s leading flying aces who was killed on active service during the Second World War.

Born in Perth, Western Australia, on 19 June 1916, Hugo Throssell Armstrong was the son of Percival William Armstrong and Grace Ethel Armstrong. Hugo was named after his famous uncle, Captain Hugo Throssell VC, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions while serving with the 10th Light Horse Regiment on Gallipoli in 1915. Another uncle, Lieutenant Eric “Ric” Throssell, also of the 10th Light Horse Regiment, also served, and was killed in action during the second battle of Gaza in 1917.

As a young man Hugo Armstrong attended Hale School. He later worked as a car salesman at his father’s business, Armstrong Cycle and Motor. Keen on motorsports, he also gained a reputation as a racing car driver.

Enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force on 25 May 1940, Armstrong began training as a pilot, and before long he embarked for overseas service. As part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, he 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.

After arriving in England in 1941 Armstrong undertook further specialist training flying Hurricanes and Spitfires. His first posting was
to No. 257 Squadron, Royal Air Force, where his mates in the RAF gave him the nickname “Sinker”.

Promoted to pilot officer, he joined No. 129 Squadron, before being posted to No. 72 Squadron as flight lieutenant in 1942. On one occasion he survived a forced crash landing at Gravesend.

In May 1942 Armstrong was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross. Later that year he was promoted to squadron leader and posted to No. 611 Squadron as Commanding Officer. Here he received a bar to his DFC, and was the first Australian trained through the Empire Air Training Scheme to command a RAF squadron in Britain. He was credited with 12 kills, all while flying Spitfires.

On 5 February 1943 Armstrong was on a mission to intercept an enemy hit-and-run raid when he and two other Spitfires were bounced by eight Fokker-Wulf FW 190s. Armstrong’s aircraft was shot down over the English Channel off Boulogne. He died in the crash, aged 26.

Armstrong’s body was never recovered, and his name is commemorated upon the Air Forces Memorial overlooking the River Thames. The Runnymede memorial lists all British and Commonwealth airmen with no known grave.

Armstrong’s name is listed here on the Roll of Honour on my left, among some 40,000 others who died while serving in the Second World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection. Armstrong is pictured in the centre; to his left is Wing Commander Richard Milne, and to his right is Adjutant Robert Gouby.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Squadron Leader Hugo Throssell Armstrong, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Lachlan Grant
Historian, Military History Section