The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (422761) Warrant Officer Joseph Deglish Stevenson, No. 196 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 (422761) Warrant Officer Joseph Deglish Stevenson, No. 196 Squadron, RAF, Second World War.

422761 Warrant Officer Joseph Deglish Stevenson, No. 196 Squadron, RAF
KIA (Flying Battle): 25 February 1945

Today, we remember and pay tribute to Warrant Officer Joseph Deglish Stevenson.

Joseph Stevenson was born in Paddington, New South Wales on Christmas Day 1919 to James and Maud Stevenson. His brother Robert was born in January 1924.

He grew up in the Kingswood district and attended Lidcombe Commercial School and later Penrith Intermediate High School where he obtained his intermediate certificate in 1935. Stevenson went on to join the New South Wales Railways where he completed further studies through the Railway Institute.

Soon after the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Stevenson’s brother, Robert, joined the Royal Australian Navy and in March 1941 became a member of HMAS Sydney (II)’s crew. On 20 November 1941, Robert, aged only 17, was killed when Sydney was sunk with all hands by the German raider Kormoran off the West Australian coast.

Stevenson served for a year with the 2/19th Battalion before joining the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve on 5 December 1941. He enlisted for full-time service with the RAAF in Sydney on 23 May 1942 and was accepted for aircrew training.

He qualified as a wireless air gunner on 4 February 1943 and was promoted to sergeant. He sailed from Melbourne on 6 March 1943 arriving in England in mid-April. Further training at operational training units followed during which time he was promoted to temporary flight sergeant. After being introduced to the Short Stirling bomber at heavy conversion units, where he met his crew, including an Australian pilot.

Stevenson was posted in February 1944 to No. 90 Squadron, RAF which was equipped with the Short Stirling III bomber.

The following month he was transferred to No. 196 Squadron, RAF, equipped with the Mark IV, known as the “Cloak and Dagger Stirling” which was part of the RAF’s Transport Command. At this time preparations for the invasion of Normandy were in full swing and the squadron, which was to tow Horsa gliders and drop British airborne troops into Normandy, spent a lot of time training with their British counterparts.

On 4 June, the men of No. 196 Squadron RAF posed for photographs as the invasion of Normandy was due to begin that night.

Later that afternoon the crews and their paratrooper charges were stood down when inclement weather caused the invasion to be postponed for 24 hours.

At 11.20 pm on 5 June 1944, 23 Stirlings of 196 Squadron, including one flown by Flying Officer Russell Tickner, with Stevenson aboard, took off from Keevil bound for Normandy. Each aircraft carried up to 20 paratroopers and their equipment.

As the aircraft crossed the French coastline, German flak and anti-aircraft fire lit up the sky. Shortly after, the paratroopers began to exit the aircraft near the town of Ranville and the Normandy invasion had begun. The squadron’s aircraft then turned for home. One aircraft was shot down, but the other 22 aircraft returned to England.

After D-Day, Stevenson was involved in training missions as well as resupply operations to resistance forces in Norway and France. He was promoted to temporary warrant officer in early August.

Stevenson’s next big operation was Market Garden in September 1944. He took part in transporting British airborne forces to Arnhem, Holland on 17 September and flew on several resupply operations to Arnhem in the ensuing days. The resupply flights were harrowing, with heavy German flak encountered over the drop zones.

On evening of 25 February 1945, Tickner, Stevenson and the rest of their crew took off from their airfield on an operational flight to Norway. Their objective was to resupply a Norwegian resistance group near Navarsgard. Soon after crossing Norway’s southern border, Tickner’s aircraft was attacked by three German night fighters. After a brief and unequal struggle, the Stirling’s starboard wing was in flames and the aircraft was beyond salvation.

With the town of Arendal directly in his path, Tickner ordered his crew to bail out which several of them managed to do. Nearby was Lake Hølen, which was covered with winter ice and Tickner aimed his aircraft for the lake. The stricken Stirling crashed through the ice and disappeared.

Tickner, Stevenson and the flight engineer were killed in the crash. Tickner’s body was not recovered and is still believed to be in the wreck at the bottom of Lake Hølen. Stevenson’s body and that of the flight engineer were recovered and laid to rest in Arendal Høgedal Cemetery. He was 25 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died as a result of their service during 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 Warrant Officer Joseph Deglish Stevenson, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.


Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section