The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (421754) Flight Sergeant Jack Olof Ohlson, 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 Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (421754) Flight Sergeant Jack Olof Ohlson, No. 467 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War.

421754 Flight Sergeant Jack Olof Ohlson, No. 467 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force
KIA 21 July 1944

Today we remember and pay tribute to Flight Sergeant Jack Olof Ohlson.

Jack Ohlson was born on 10 February 1913 in the Adelaide suburb of Woodville, the son of Oscar and Estella Ohlson. His father worked for the Vacuum Oil Company, and his mother ran a hotel in Adelaide.

Growing up, Jack was fond of swimming and football. He attended Woodville Public School, Croydon Central School, and Thebarton Tech High School. After leaving school he found work as a clerk and then as a forestry officer with the Forestry Commission of South Australia and New South Wales. He had worked for them for ten years until, on 28 March 1942, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force, aged 29.

Ohlson embarked from Melbourne for overseas service on the 2nd of November. 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.

Arriving in Canada at the end of November, Ohlson underwent training as an air gunner. He found a warm welcome in Canada, and even visited a timber plant in Idaho during his time there. He also stayed for a time in Spokane, Washington, and he and his fellow airmen showed their appreciation to the town by taking toys to the children in the local hospital. In October 1943 he was promoted to sergeant, and the next month left Canada for the UK.

Further training followed, and on 15 April 1944 Ohlson was promoted to flight sergeant. In July he was posted to No. 467 Squadron, which flew four-engined Avro Lancaster heavy bombers as part of Bomber Command.

Just before 11.30 pm on the night of 20 July 1944, Ohlson and his crew set off from Waddington, England, as part of a major raid on the railway centre of Courtrai in Belgium. The squadron committed 14 aircraft to the mission. Ohlson was the mid-upper air gunner with Lancaster “PO-E”. Although the raid was a success, No. 467 Squadron lost two crews. One of them was Flight Sergeant Ohlson’s. The aircraft failed to return to base, and it was later determined to have been hit by enemy fire.

In the nearby village of Kaaskerke witnesses saw the aircraft in flames at about 2 am on 21 July. It crashed three kilometres from the village church. There were no survivors. Also on board were British Sergeant Leslie Arcus, and Australians Flying Officer David Barlow and Flight Sergeants James Abraham, Maurice Jones, Edward Freame, and Robert Scott.

After the war the remains of Commonwealth servicemen buried in Europe were examined and identified where possible. Research found that the Germans had buried the crew at Kaaskerke. Ohlson’s remains were identified, and he was reinterred under the inscription: “Thy will be done.”
Jack Ohlson was 31 years old, survived by his fiancée, Aircraftwoman Jean Goss of the Royal Nursing Service.
Flight Sergeant Jack Ohlson’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 Flight Sergeant Jack Olof Ohlson, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Christina Zissis
Editor, Military History Section