The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (25243) Flying Officer John Francis Tucker, No. 467 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 Joanne Smedley, the story for this day was on (25243) Flying Officer John Francis Tucker, No. 467 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War.

25243 Flying Officer John Francis Tucker, No. 467 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force
KIA 10 May 1944

Today we remember and pay tribute to Flying Officer John Francis Tucker.

John Tucker was born on 20 April 1919 in Paris, the son of Thomas and Diana Tucker. The family later immigrated to Brisbane, Australia, where his father worked as a labourer.
As a young man, John found work as a book keeper and wood machinist, before becoming a transport driver. Soon after the outbreak of war, his father enlisted in the Australian Military Forces, and was posted to the Australian Army Service Corps. On 13 March 1941, John enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force at the age of 21.

John Tucker underwent months of training in Australia, and in April was commissioned as a pilot officer. He embarked at Sydney for overseas service on 25 May 1943, arriving in the United Kingdom in July. As part of the Empire Air Training Scheme he was one of almost 27,000 RAAF pilots, navigators, wireless operators, gunners, and engineers who joined Australian and British squadrons in Britain throughout the course of the war.

Further training followed in England, and in October Tucker was made flying officer. He joined No. 467 Squadron, RAAF, in April 1944, and flew his first operation the following day.
On the night of 10 May, 31 Lancaster bombers from 463 and 467 Squadrons departed as part of a major RAF raid from Waddington, England. Their target was the heavily defended railway yards at Lille in France. Flying Officer Tucker was the wireless operator and air gunner with Lancaster “PO-J”.

The raid cost the squadrons heavily. Twelve Lancasters were lost, and 50 airmen were recorded as casualties of the mission. One of those killed was John Tucker. His Lancaster failed to return to base and was presumed to have been shot down by enemy action. After the war it was determined that the aircraft had exploded above the target, killing all on board.

The airmen who died in the raid were buried nearby. After the war the remains of Commonwealth servicemen buried in Europe were examined and identified where possible. Tucker’s remains were identified largely by a process of elimination, in the Hellemmes-Lille Communal Cemetery. He had been buried along with his comrades, and wreaths and flowers had been laid by local civilians. Tucker was later reinterred there under the inscription: “If death divides us, prayer brings us together again.”

Flying Officer John Tucker’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with some 40,000 others from 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 John Francis Tucker, and all those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Christina Zissis
Editor, Military History Section