Fordyce, Horace Spencer Wills (Flight Lieutenant, b.1914 - d.2008)

Accession Number AWM2019.782.2
Collection type Private Record
Record type Collection
Measurement Extent: .5 cm; Wallet/s: 1
Object type Letter
Maker Fordyce, Horace Spencer Wills (Bill)
Place made Germany
Date made 1944
Access Open
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Description

Collection relating to the Second World War service of 400396 Flight Lieutenant Horace Spencer Wills 'Bill' Fordyce, 458 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Germany, 1944.

Wallet 1 of 1 – Consists of one postcard from Flight Lieutenant Fordyce to his good friend, VX1959 Sergeant Trevor Benjamin Crawford, dated 12 April 1944. It was written shortly after Flight Lieutenant Fordyce had attempted to escape Stalag Luft III in the 'Great Escape' of 24-25 March 1944. In his postcard, Flight Lieutenant Fordyce writes about prayers for his friend’s safety, and enjoying the warmer weather.

This collection also includes reference material relating to Flight Lieutenant Fordyce, including a newspaper obituary and a transcript of a talk given to a class of schoolchildren in 1978.

History / Summary

Flight Lieutenant Horace Spencer Wills “Bill” Fordyce enlisted to the Royal Australian Air Force on 20 August 1940, after previously serving in the Citizen Military Forces. He competed his pilot training in Australia and the United Kingdom, and went on to serve with 458 Squadron. With this unit, Flight Lieutenant Fordyce flew operations over the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. In June 1942, Flight Lieutenant Fordyce was shot down over the Mediterranean Sea by German fighter aircraft. He and his remaining crewmembers swam to shore, and were taken by the Italians as prisoners of war. Flight Lieutenant Fordyce was initially held in a prisoner of war camp in Sulmona, Italy, and was later transferred to Stalag Luft III, and Air Force Officers camp in Germany. On 24-25 March 1944, Flight Lieutenant Fordyce participated in the “great escape” from Stalag Luft III. He was the last man to enter the tunnel, and turned back to the camp when the German Guards began to shoot into tunnel’s exit. After the Allied victory in Europe, Flight Lieutenant Fordyce returned to Australia. He was discharged on 25 October 1945.