The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of(177) Wing Commander Douglas Carson Riding, No. 30 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War.

Places
Accession Number AWM2017.1.321
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 17 November 2017
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 Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (177) Wing Commander Douglas Carson Riding, No. 30 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War.

Film order form
Speech transcript

177 Wing Commander Douglas Carson Riding, No. 30 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force
Killed in Flying Battle 17 November 1942

Story delivered 17 November 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Wing Commander Douglas Carson Riding.

Douglas Riding was born on 11 April 1916 in Sydney, the eldest son of Horace and Mary Riding. In 1922 the family moved from Sydney to Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales mid-north coast. Here Riding attended the local high school, and was much looked up to by his brother Bruce, ten years his junior.

One of Riding’s great passions was surf life-saving. At the age of seven he was the Coffs Harbour Surf Life Saving Club’s team mascot. He later became team club captain and senior belt man, representing the club at state and national surf life-saving carnivals, and winning numerous trophies.

Riding briefly trained to become a dental technician as he waited to pursue his great passion, flying. He joined the Permanent Air Force on 18 January 1937 and began training at Point Cook in Victoria. In December of that year, he transferred to No. 21 City of Melbourne Squadron, where he flew Hawker Demon aircraft.

In March 1939, Riding was back at No. 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook, this time as a flying instructor. As war loomed, professional permanent pilots such as Riding were a valuable asset to the rapidly expanding air force. While permanent pilots sometimes resented their new role as trainers rather this fighters, this work was essential for the war effort.

Riding spent the next few years of the war in various training roles across Australia. He remained at Point Cook until October 1940 until being transferred to Amberley near Ipswich in Queensland. After Amberley he served at the No. 1 Bombing and Gunnery School at Evans Head in northern New South Wales, and No. 6 Service Plying Training School at Mallala, South Australia. Throughout this period Riding received several promotions, rising to the rank of squadron leader.

On 1 February 1941, while based at Amberley in Queensland, Riding travelled south to Sydney and married Margaret Tulloch. His role as instructor allowed him to live with his wife at his various postings. While at Evans Head, Margaret was involved in aircraft- and ship-spotting for the local defence network with her friend Marie.

In August 1942, Riding transferred to the newly formed No. 31 Squadron, based near Wagga Wagga. This squadron was equipped with the new two-man Bristol Beaufighter aircraft and was preparing for deployment. Due to this new posting, Margaret could no longer stay with her husband, and went to live with her parents in Sydney. The separation was distressing for the young couple, and Margaret was able to visit her husband only three times.

Riding trained at Wagga Wagga until 3 November, when he began the long and arduous journey north to Coomalie Creek, an air strip just south of Darwin. No. 31 Squadron had been transferred north as the Beaufighters they were flying were considered well suited to defend northern Australia from the advancing Japanese.

On 17 November 1942, Riding took part in No. 31 Squadron’s first attack on Japanese forces. At about five in the morning, he was piloting a Beaufighter, with Warrant Officer Robert Clarke serving as his navigator. As they approached the south coast of Timor, Riding and two other aircraft from his squadron were flying in formation when they came under pursuit from Japanese fighters. Riding, who was flying at only 50 feet of altitude, made a sharp turn as part of an evasive manoeuvre. In doing so his starboard wing clipped the water and was torn off. When the aircraft crashed at high speed into the Timor Sea both crewmembers were killed.

Two days after the accident, Riding’s wife Margaret received word that her husband was reported missing, presumed dead. She was three
months pregnant with the couple’s only child, Douglas, who would be born in May 1943.

Riding’s promotion to the rank of wing commander was promulgated as he was making his final flight. Had the news come through hours before, he would not have taken off, but instead would have prepared for his new posting.
He was 26 years old.

Margaret retained a close relationship with her husband’s unit after the war through the 31 Squadron Association. She visited her husband’s last base at Coomalie Creek twice before she passed away in 2010.

Today, Riding’s name appears on the Northern Territory Memorial which commemorates the names of Australian servicemen of the Second World War who have no known grave.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while 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 Wing Commander Douglas Carson Riding, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section

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