The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (400788) Flying Officer Wilbur James Dowling, No. 461 Squadron, 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 Jana Johnson , the story for this day was on (400788) Flying Officer Wilbur James Dowling, No. 461 Squadron, Second World War.

400788 Flying Officer Wilbur James Dowling, No. 461 Squadron
Flying Battle 13 August 1943
Story delivered 1 May 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Flying Officer Wilbur James Dowling.

Wilbur Dowling was born on 29 May 1909 to James and Jessie Dowling of Bendigo, Victoria.

After his education, he was involved in the Cadet Corps, and was a sheep and cattle farmer.

In November 1940, Dowling travelled to Melbourne to enlist in the Royal Air Force, and began training as a pilot.

In June 1941, a month after receiving his flying badge, he married Moira Doreen Sullivan.

He continued training in Australia for another year before being posted to Mount Batten, Plymouth, to complete his pilot’s course. By the time of his deployment, Dowling had flown a number of aircraft including Ansons and Tiger Moths.

After completing his pilot’s course in June 1942, Dowling was posted to No. 461 Squadron of RAF Coastal Command. Created on 25 April 1942 and composed primarily of Australians, No. 461 Squadron was known as the “Anzac Squadron”. In 461 Squadron Dowling piloted Short Sunderland flying-boats, searching for German U-boats over the Bay of Biscay, and playing a major role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

In June 1943, Dowling was one of 11 men on board Sunderland EJ134, known as “N for Nuts”. Six hours into a U-boat-seeking mission, “N for Nuts” was attacked by 8 German Junker 88 fighter bombers. The Sunderland was badly damaged; fire spread throughout the cockpit and the wireless operator and navigator were wounded by shrapnel. Miraculously, the Sunderland managed to evade the Junkers after an hour of offensive fire, landing on a public beach in Cornwall after making the nearly 500-kilometre journey home.
“N for Nuts” broke up on the beach after landing. The Sunderland crew lost one member, Pilot Officer Ted Miles, and became famous throughout Coastal Command.

The Chief of Staff of the RAF, Sir Charles Portall, acknowledged the gallantry of Dowling’s Sunderland crew, stating that “this epic battle will go down in history as one of the finest instances in this war of the triumph of coolness, skill, and determination”.

Two months later, on 13 August 1943, Dowling, along with seven other crew members from “N for Nuts”, found themselves on another seemingly routine anti-submarine patrol. In the early afternoon, Dowling’s Sunderland reported by radio that the aircraft was under attack from six German Junker 88 fighter bombers. That was the last message received from the Sunderland. No remains of the aircraft were found.

The crew was officially presumed dead in 1944.

Fellow RAF Coastal aircrew, tail gunner Jack Edge, stated that for those lost over the Atlantic during their service in RAF Coastal Command, “their only monument can be a friend’s remorse and a loved one’s tears, but they are not forgotten”. Wilbur Dowling has no known grave. His name appears on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, alongside the names of 20,288 other Allied casualties.

He was 34 years of age.

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 Flying Officer Wilbur James Dowling, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Jessica Urwin
Summer Scholar, 2018
Military History Section