The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (408820) Pilot Officer Joseph Gipson Butler, No. 2 Squadron, Royal Australian 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 Jana Johnson, the story for this day was on (408820) Pilot Officer Joseph Gipson Butler, No. 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War.

408820 Pilot Officer Joseph Gipson Butler, No. 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force
Killed in flying battle 20 April 1943

Today we remember and pay tribute to Pilot Officer Joseph Gipson Butler.

Joseph Butler was born on 27 April 1919 at Tallangatta, Victoria, to Benjamin and Alice Butler.

Known fondly as “Joe”, he grew up surrounded by siblings ¬– Coral, Pansy, Enid, Garth, Thelma, and Mavis. He attended Tallangatta State School, and in his final year was awarded most popular boy.
He went on to work as a mechanic in the family garage business and as an assistant operator at the Gaiety Theatre.

In December 1940, at the age of 21, Butler signed up with the Air Force reserve at a mobile recruiting centre at Tallangatta.

In May the next year, shortly after turning 22, he travelled to Melbourne to enlist in the Royal Australian Air Force.

Following training at Point Cook, Ballarat, and Evans Head, Butler was mustered as a wireless air gunner – responsible for operating radio equipment and manning a gun as necessary during air operations.
In August 1942 he was posted to No. 2 Squadron, which was flying Lockheed Hudsons, one of the most versatile aircraft used by Allied air forces during the early part of the war.

By the time that Butler joined the squadron, its detachments had been withdrawn to Australia as Japanese forces advanced south, attacking the squadron's forward bases. The squadron maintained an intense bombing campaign against Japanese positions and shipping at Ambon, Timor, Koepang, and other islands in the Banda Sea. In 1943, as the Allies gained control of the sky, 2 Squadron made daily attacks on Koepang, Lautem, Penfoei, and Dili.

On the morning of 20 April 1943 two Hudsons took off from the island of Milingimbi, just off the Arnhem Land coast, to carry out a bombing raid of Timoeka in New Guinea.

A few minutes after the second plane took off, a Fijian missionary stationed at Millingimbi heard several loud explosions. He rang the air force and told them what had happened. He then got into a canoe and paddled nine kilometres to Rabuma Island, where he was joined by the Flight Lieutenant McKinnon, the commanding officer at Milingimbi.

While the cause of the accident couldn’t be proved, it was thought that the two aircraft must have collided in mid-air. Originally reported as missing, it wasn’t long until Pilot Officer Butler was recategorised as killed during operations.
His funeral on Rabuma Island took place on 22 April 1943, five days before his 24th birthday.

His body was brought back to Australia and buried in Adelaide River War Cemetery in the Northern Territory.

Joseph Butler’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among more than 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 Pilot Officer Joseph Gipson Butler, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section