The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (423363) Pilot Officer Lindsay George Walker, No. 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit, Royal 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 , the story for this day was on (423363) Pilot Officer Lindsay George Walker, No. 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit, Royal Air Force, Second World War.

423363 Pilot Officer Lindsay George Walker, No. 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit, Royal Air Force
Accidentally killed 3 September 1944

Today we remember and pay tribute to Pilot Officer Lindsay George Walker.

Lindsay Walker was born on 15 July 1923 in Cumnock in the New South Wales Central Tablelands. Affectionately known as “Wiz”, he was the only son of mechanic Nathaniel Parton Walker and his wife Mary Amelia, a Burramatta woman of the Dharug nation. Lindsay grew up around the northern suburbs of Sydney, attending the local junior high school, and later Fort Street Boys High School. He was a renowned sportsman, and particularly enjoyed swimming, athletics and playing cricket. At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, he was working for Woolworths as a salesman, and living in the suburb of Kirribilli.

Lindsay Walker enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 20 June 1942. He undertook his initial training at Bradfield Park and continued this training at Narrandera and Point Cook. He qualified as a pilot on 21 April 1943, and two months later travelled to Adelaide, where he embarked for active service.

Walker arrived in the United Kingdom in early September and was stationed at a reception centre in the seaside town of Brighton until November, when he joined a pilot’s advanced flying unit to continue his building his skills. He remained with this unit until April 1944, when he was attached to No. 27 Operational Training Unit at RAF Moreton-in-Marsh. Here, Walker learned to fly the Vickers Wellington medium bomber as part of a crew, training for night raids and bombing operations. He moved to the Royal Air Force Station at Lindholme in August 1944, where he joined No. 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit to be trained to fly four-engine bombers, including the Avro Lancaster and the Handley Page Halifax.

On 3 September 1944, Pilot Officer Walker took off on an operational training flight as captain of a five man crew detailed to undertake a standard navigational exercise over the western regions of Wales. The Halifax left base at 11:30 am, instructed to turn back if cloud cover impaired visibility or became too thick. The crew was due to arrive at Stumble Head, South Wales by 2 pm that same afternoon. When they failed to arrive, it was then discovered that they had crashed into the Rival Mountains, south of the town of Trevor. There were no survivors.

An investigation of the crash revealed that Walker’s Halifax had last been seen flying at about 200 feet in rain and mist. He had evidently been trying to navigate by visual aids along the Welsh coastline, flying low in mountainous country when the crash occurred.

Pilot Officer Walker was laid to rest on 8 September 1944. Before his funeral, the squadron’s chaplain wrote to Walker’s mother and noted: “It may be of some comfort to you to know that your son’s death was instantaneous and that he died while flying in the service of his country.”

Today, Walker’s remains lie in Blacon Cemetery in Chester, beneath the inscription chosen by his family: “He gave his life that those he loved might live in peace.”

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 Lindsay George Walker, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Military History Section