Leeton Anzac honoured at Australian War Memorial
Flight Sergeant (later Pilot Officer) Edward George Wicky, left, and Flight Sergeant (later Pilot Officer) Oswald Mountford of Leeton, NSW.
422783 Flight Sergeant (later Pilot Officer) Edward George Wicky of Manly, NSW, left, and his observer 422628 Flight Sergeant (later Pilot Officer) Oswald Mountford of Leeton, NSW, who together completed the 1000th sortie flown since D-Day by No. 464 (Mosquito) Squadron RAAF, based at RAF Station Methwold. On February 3, 1945, their aircraft took part in a raid by 17 Mosquitoes on enemy targets behind the battle area in Europe. On returning from this mission, their aircraft crashed, and both airmen were killed in bad visibility near Horndean, UK. They are buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, UK. Photo: Australian War Memorial. Accession No. SUK13129
The Australian War Memorial in Canberra will be commemorating the service and sacrifice of Leeton resident Pilot Officer Oswald Mountford at the Last Post Ceremony on Wednesday 27 November.
“Oswald was born on 11 December 1923 in Leeton, NSW, the only son of Oswald Senior and Ivy Mountford,” Australian War Memorial senior historian Craig Tibbitts said.
“Known as Billie, he grew up in Leeton with his younger sister, Patricia, and attended Leeton Intermediate High School.
“Mountford was 18 when enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in Sydney in May 1942, alongside fellow Leeton man, Edward Wicky. During air crew training, Mountford and Wicky paired up and would fly together from then on.
“They arrived in the UK in November, 1943, were posted to No. 464 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force in July 1944, before being granted commissions as pilot officers in the Royal Air Force, joining their new squadron around D-Day.
“In the early hours of 4 February 1945, Mountford and Wicky were returning to their base east of Portsmouth after successfully attacking enemy installations in Holland when their Mosquito crashed while taking immediate evasive action near the village of Horndean. No civilians were hurt, but both Wicky and Mountford were killed.
“Oswald Mountford was 21 years old.”
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 3,800 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 Pilot Officer Oswald Mountford 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 image: www.awm.gov.au/collection/C277951
CONTACT: Media team on 02 6263 6628, 0409 600 038 or media@awm.gov.au
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