Central Goldfields Flying Officer honoured on 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe
The Australian War Memorial in Canberra will commemorate the service and sacrifice of Central Goldfields resident Flying Officer Albert Edwin Crellin at the Last Post Ceremony on Thursday 8 May 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
“Albert was born on 6 July 1914 in Maryborough, Victoria, the second of four children born to Edwin and Florence Crellin,” Australian War Memorial senior historian Craig Tibbitts said.
“When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Albert was working as an estate agent in Melbourne. He married Doreen Muriel Taylor in December, and the couple welcomed a son, John Royston Crellin, on 18 July 1941.”
Exactly one year later, Albert joined the Royal Australian Air Force in July 1942. After training in Australia and Canada, he arrived in England on 11 January 1944.
Flying Officer Albert Crellin was posted to No. 464 Squadron RAAF on 25 July 1944. Two weeks later, on 5 August, he was killed in action during a night intruder attack on transport infrastructure in northern France. He was 30 years old.
His son, John, went on to become a highly respected surgeon, who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his service to medicine andthe community of Wonthaggi.
The Last Post ceremony is held at 4.30 pm every day except Christmas Day in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial.
Each ceremony shares the story behind one of 103,000 names on the Roll of Honour. To date, the Memorial has delivered more than 4,100 ceremonies, each featuring an individual story of service from colonial to recent conflicts. It would take more than 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 names listed on the Roll of Honour.
“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Memorial Director Matt Anderson said.
“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women died. We also tell the stories of who they were when they were alive, and of the families who loved and, in so many cases, still mourn for them.
“The Last Post is now associated with remembrance but originally it was a bugle call to sound the end of the day’s activities in the military. It is a fitting way to end each day at the Memorial.”
The Last Post Ceremony honouring the service of Flying Officer Albert Edwin Crellin will be live streamed to the Australian War Memorial’s YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/c/awmlastpost.
The stories told at the Last Post Ceremony are researched and written by the Memorial’s military historians, who begin the process by looking at nominal rolls, attestation papers and enlistment records before building profiles that include personal milestones and military experiences.
HANDOUT images:
The Australian War Memorial in Canberra will commemorate the service and sacrifice of Central Goldfields resident Flying Officer Albert Edwin Crellin at the Last Post Ceremony on Thursday 8 May 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
“Albert was born on 6 July 1914 in Maryborough, Victoria, the second of four children born to Edwin and Florence Crellin,” Australian War Memorial senior historian Craig Tibbitts said.
“When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Albert was working as an estate agent in Melbourne. He married Doreen Muriel Taylor in December, and the couple welcomed a son, John Royston Crellin, on 18 July 1941.”
Exactly one year later, Albert joined the Royal Australian Air Force in July 1942. After training in Australia and Canada, he arrived in England on 11 January 1944.
Flying Officer Albert Crellin was posted to No. 464 Squadron RAAF on 25 July 1944. Two weeks later, on 5 August, he was killed in action during a night intruder attack on transport infrastructure in northern France. He was 30 years old.
His son, John, went on to become a highly respected surgeon, who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his service to medicine and the community of Wonthaggi.
The Last Post ceremony is held at 4.30 pm every day except Christmas Day in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial.
Each ceremony shares the story behind one of 103,000 names on the Roll of Honour. To date, the Memorial has delivered more than 4,100 ceremonies, each featuring an individual story of service from colonial to recent conflicts. It would take more than 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 names listed on the Roll of Honour.
“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Memorial Director Matt Anderson said.
“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women died. We also tell the stories of who they were when they were alive, and of the families who loved and, in so many cases, still mourn for them.
“The Last Post is now associated with remembrance but originally it was a bugle call to sound the end of the day’s activities in the military. It is a fitting way to end each day at the Memorial.”
The Last Post Ceremony honouring the service of Flying Officer Albert Edwin Crellin will be live streamed to the Australian War Memorial’s YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/c/awmlastpost.
The stories told at the Last Post Ceremony are researched and written by the Memorial’s military historians, who begin the process by looking at nominal rolls, attestation papers and enlistment records before building profiles that include personal milestones and military experiences.
HANDOUT images:
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