The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (424797) Flying Officer George Dudley Rawson, No. 467 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (424797) Flying Officer George Dudley Rawson, No. 467 Squadron, Second World War.

424797 Flying Officer George Dudley Rawson, No. 467 Squadron
Flying battle 5 December 1944

Today we remember and pay tribute to Flying Officer George Dudley Rawson.

George Dudley Rawson was born on 10 March 1924 in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt, the son of George and Annie Rawson.

On 9 October 1942, at the age of 18, Rawson enlisted into the Royal Australian Air Force. After initial training at Bradfield in Sydney’s north, and Temora, north of Wagga Wagga, he began training as a wireless air gunner at Parkes and Port Pirie in South Australia.

In late 1942 Rawson sailed from Australia for England, where he continued his training and received a promotion to the rank of flying officer. In November 1944, he joined Royal Australian Air Force’s No. 467 Squadron.

No. 467 Squadron was part of Bomber Command, and flew Avro Lancaster heavy bombers, principally in night-time raids on German targets in occupied Europe. Before Rawson’s arrival, the squadron had assisted the D-Day landings of June 1944, conducting preparatory bombing raids on German positions in occupied France, and then bombing targets across Europe once the invasion had begun.

On 4 December 1944, 17 days after joining his squadron, Rawson took part in night-time bombing raid on Heilbronn, an important rail hub in southern Germany. Rawson served as wireless operator in the Avro Lancaster “O for Oboe”, which took off shortly before 5 pm.

As Rawson’s aircraft approached its target, it came under attack from German Junker 88 fighter aircraft from a night-fighter squadron. O for Oboe’s pilot, Flying Officer John Plumridge, immediately commenced a corkscrew manoeuvre in an attempt to shake off the enemy attackers. The tail and mid-turret machine-gunners opened fire on the enemy, successfully warding off the German aircraft, and the Lancaster continued on its path towards Heilbronn.

Soon afterwards, however, Rawson’s aircraft came under renewed attack, this time from fighter ace Oberleutnant Peter Spoden, a German pilot responsible for shooting down 25 Allied aircraft during the Second World War. Spoden’s attack damaged O for Oboe’s engines, which burst into flames. As the Lancaster rapidly lost altitude, the crew were ordered to parachute out.

O for Oboe crashed into farmland near Meinsheim, west of the Rhine River in Germany, and exploded on impact, leaving a two-metre deep crater, and a burning crash site. The only member of the crew to survive was Flight Sergeant Penman, who had parachuted from the plane before it crashed. He spent the remainder of the war in a German prisoner-of-war camp. The rest of the seven-man crew, including George Rawson, died on impact.

George Rawson was 20 years old.

Today his remains lie buried in the Durnbach War Cemetery in Bavaria, where nearly 3,000 soldiers of the Second World War now lie.

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 George Dudley Rawson, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section