The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (410340) Pilot Officer Russell Stuart Jack No. 79 Squadron (RAF), 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 , the story for this day was on (410340) Pilot Officer Russell Stuart Jack No. 79 Squadron (RAF), Second World War.

410340 Pilot Officer Russell Stuart Jack No. 79 Squadron (RAF)
Flying Battle 21 April 1945

Today we remember and pay tribute to Pilot Officer Russell Stuart Jack.

Russell Stuart Jack was born on 9 March 1923 in Wangaratta, Victoria. Jack grew up with his parents Stuart and Grace, as well as his two sisters Joyce and Nola. At the time of his signing up to serve for Australia in the Second World War, he was living in Middle Park in Melbourne. Before serving, Jack worked as a clerk with the Commonwealth Oil Refineries.

Jack enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in Melbourne on 6 December 1941, and soon began training: first at the No 1 Initial Training school at Somers, Victoria, then the No. 11 Elementary Training Flying School at Benalla, not far from where he was born.

On 19 August 1942 he sailed from Sydney to Canada to take part in the Empire Air Training Scheme, otherwise known as EATS. In this program, airmen travelled from across the Commonwealth to train at bases around Canada before being posted to various Air Force units serving in Europe. After training in Alberta and Ontario, in February 1943 Jack departed from Canada for England, where he continued his training. Jack’s service record indicates that in this period he gained hours of experience flying numerous aircraft, including trainer aircraft such as Wackets, Harvard Mk IIs, Tigermoths and Miles Masters, as well as fighter aircraft such as the Hawker Hurricane. Jack received various promotions throughout this period, eventually reaching the rank of flight sergeant.

In November 1943, Jack transferred once more, this time to India, where he would serve in Air Command, South East Asia.

Jack was posted to Worli in Bombay, and later to Poona south-east of Bombay. On 25 September 1944, he joined RAF No. 79 Squadron, which was at that time flying Thunderbolt fighter aircraft. When Jack joined No. 79 Squadron, it was conducting air operations against Japanese targets in Burma. Jack and his squadron provided close bombing and strafing support for army operations, and attacked Japanese infrastructure such as stores dumps, roads, railways, and river communications.

In January 1945 Jack was reported to have recently destroyed two Japanese trucks and two boats on a single mission. He was also reported to have destroyed an important Japanese oil dump and adjacent building while carrying out an attack with Pilot Officer Geoffrey Hopwood, who had grown up in the same part of Australia as Jack.

On 20 April 1945, Jack was promoted once more, this time to the rank of Pilot Officer. One day later, Jack was attacking Japanese targets over central Burma when his plane was shot down, probably by Japanese anti-aircraft defences. Reports indicate that Jack’s aircraft was flying at a low altitude and that it was impossible for Jack to parachute from the crashing plane. He was 22 years old.
Jack was initially reported as missing presumed dead, and his family did not receive official confirmation of his death until 1946. Upon hearing of his death, his grieving parents and sisters wrote the simple note in a local newspaper: “For ever we’ll remember”.

His name is listed on the Singapore Memorial, which lists the names of nearly 25,000 soldiers and airmen 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 Pilot Officer Russell Stuart Jack, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section