Chapter 12

1945 was a big year, i.e. one in which a lot happened, in fact so many that it is not so easy to draw the component strands into a woven whole. In early January, so my notes reveal, I was attempting to travel to Sydney, returning to Bradfield Park from Adelaide where I had been on Christmas leave. Just before this in December, 1944, I had been posted from Watsonia outside Melbourne to Parkes, and had barely settled in and attended some lectures when I was sent to 2PD Bradfield Park for the High Altitude Course in the decompression chamber.
It is easy with hindsight to see the year in a different light from the way it occurred in 1945. It was wartime after all , as it had been for over 5 years. In 1945 we did not know when the war would finish, nor indeed who would win, although there were better signs around than in previous years. Already by 1944 thousands of Australians had been killed including school friends and worse, my brother Dick. Although I was still in training the usual course of events would see me "on active service" before long. Wartime Australia will be dealt with in more detail elsewhere, but it would help the reader (if any) to have read about the wartime to have some background understanding of it to place the notes on 1945 into perspective.
In retrospect this was a very full year, in fact so many events occurred that for purposes of a story it will be difficult to weave the threads into a pattern.
In early January so my notes reveal, I was attempting to travel to Sydney, returning to Bradfield Park from leave. In early December 1944 I had been posted to Parkes from Watsonia and although some lectures were being given, there was no other formal activity. George Mitchell and Jean Marsden(Spiers) both of whom I had known in Southport were also at Parkes. After a fortnight I was sent to Bradfield Park (2PD), then was given 10 days local leave. That was then cancelled and we started the high altitude course. After the course I was given leave as it was close to Christmas and I travelled by troop train from Sydney to Melbourne on 24th December and on to Adelaide to be with Mum and Dad. Modest outings, usually the cinema (pictures) often with other RAAF fellows whom I would meet almost any time I went to the city were the main activities outside home. A dust storm on 29/12/44 was the worst seen since 1851. On 1/1/45 I caught a troop train to Melbourne and then on to Sydney. On the 5/1 left Sydney for Parkes. Here I must mention how pleasant it was to have spent some of the time in Sydney with favourite relatives--Tom and Mildred Hadley at Manly and Adrian and Thelma Delamore at Warrawee with their daughter Elisabeth, now Maynard of Hay.
At Parkes (7OTU) we commenced the flying program still on Wirraways. The plan at these Operational Training Units was to continue using the aircraft that was familiar, but using it for advanced techniques such as scramble practice,(a 60 yard run, climb into the plane start up and get off the ground in 1 minute 20 seconds), flying in fighter pairs, squadron formation, low flying, gunnery and bombing, air to air attacks, and then to graduate to the operational aircraft when the same tactics would be carried out, and would be more or less familiar. On this particular day the temperature was 110oF. By chance one of the instructors was F/L Gordon Carrick who had worked with Dick at Borthwicks. Another was Bill Needham whose brother Don was on course with me at Parafield. By the end of January we were went on a bivouac on the Lachlan River, to gain some experience in finding our way on the ground after landing in hostile territory.
The bivouac on the Lachlan was a great experience over 4 days. We were camped on the bank of the river and saw small tortoises and many birds. We were sent on a hike to rendezvous with others at a farmhouse. The daughters of the farmer were very friendly, plying us with food and drink and massive bunches of grapes. Some of the fellows concocted a story about being from a crashed Flying Fortress to gain sympathy. This went down well for a while. We made our way back to camp before nightfall, much to the chagrin of one or two of the randy Poms who were with us. The story I heard later was that two of them set off to go back to the farm by night, but fell into the river while crossing it on a log-bridge. The next day we were taken to some mountains 9 miles away and told to find our way back. Three of us did and beat the rest (who may not really have cared). One P/O Cec. Downes knew Ken Glover at Palmwoods and was also on course with Dick at Kingaroy (ITS?).
At about this time we began to get acquainted with cockpit drill on the Spitfire Mark 5 that we were due to fly. In fact, the "Great Day" was Monday 5th February, 1945 when, at 0530 hours I flew a Spitfire for the first time. Had a beautiful flight -- so smooth and responsive was the aircraft that it was an absolute joy as well as being the realisation of a dream. Again the next day I flew 2 more periods. From then on we flew frequently and it was just great. We flew often in fighter pairs and converted this into a line astern chase that was invigorating whichever position, leader or follower, you were in. These activities especially near the ground were a test of quick reflexes and the ability to be able to cope with high G levels. Camera gunnery gave me a great deal of pleasure as my film was assessed as the best for ranges and line of flight. Later we had at the station, skeet shooting, no doubt to sharpen our feeling for deflection shooting. For a person who had seldom fired a shot, my performance at Parafield, Deniliquin and Parkes in various shooting contests was, unexpectedly, consistently good.
In the month of February the major flying training was in the Spitfire VC. These were dream days as I so enjoyed flying this aircraft. The activities were "advanced" as befitted an operational training unit and were intended to prepare one to be a useful member of a squadron. These activities were varied, involving dawn take-offs, squadron formation, head-on attacks, low level strafing, individual attacks and section combat(on which we were so intense that we took 20 minutes to find our way back to Parkes). Our flight commander Dave Evans was on Course 8 with Don Andrews. On Tuesday the 20th we did a cross-country from Ungarie-Young and also Squadron formation. I was flying Red 2 and Red Leader "Scotty" had trouble and dropped out of formation, and I became Red Leader. There followed a complex series of manoeuvres involving the three groups of 4 aircraft (minus 1) and on landing I received praise for the way I had carried out the task. Later on I learned that chiefly as a result of this effort I was recommended for a commission. This actually came about when I was nominally a flight-sergeant in the Squadron but I did not learn of it until I was back in Australia after the war ended and I was being discharged. My papers showed that I had been commissioned perhaps a year earlier as a Pilot Officer and due to the passage of time was now a Flying Officer.
We spent quite a lot of time practising air to ground gunnery and on 22/5 I obtained the highest number of hits on the target (186 of 440 and 190 of 440) and this was against mostly seasoned squadron pilots which did not please them all that much but I was praised for my efforts. Dave Evans confided in me that he expected me to be sent up north to a Squadron fairly soon after finishing OTU. As it turned out I was sent on leave to Adelaide and went through the usual routine of time with family, meeting friends and so on, but also we hired a car and saw some of the surrounding areas--more in 2 days than we had seen in 2 years thanks to the folk's generosity for my pre-embarkation leave. I was flown to Brisbane in a C47 (looking back it was rather unusual) stayed with Gwen 13/3/45 and visited Aunt Nell Cribb and cousin Vera, Dorothy W. and bumped into other friends at the Sandgate camp.
Travelled to Southport for a nostalgic look there. I saw various identities there such as Jack Wills and Fred Andrews in town and the Andrews family in Lenneberg St. Saw Mrs Cosgrave who drove me to the Cable Station where I picked up Peter's bike and rode to TSS. There I saw the Head, Jack Radcliffe, and Harry Kaiser , Frank Surman and Stan Glover also a master there by now. Also saw Ferris and Betts and Mrs Macmillan and Mrs Lacy at the Cable Station. Not a bad day's work. There was more actually, because this was also the day that I met the maid from school who had been friendly with Rob Young, and who saw me in the street whereupon she said "Oooooh--I thought you were dead". Awkward as this was I realised she must have linked my name and the news of Dick whom she would not have known.
Back to Sandgate where a few activities were interspersed with many boring periods of inactivity. On 26/3 a draft of Aussies (air crew)returned from Canada and formed a parade at Sandgate. Listening to the roll call and walking around when they had broken off I was able to meet up with several who had been at ITS or even EFTS when I was there. Also, by a streak of good fortune I heard a name "Kloster" which I knew but had not heard for ten years or so. When we lived at Mosman I used to go to school with a Linton Kloster and often played with him after school as he lived nearby. He remembered me and we indulged in a short period of reminiscence. Several fellows from my time at TSS have been here at Sandgate during my short time here. As far as duties are concerned, I have been given escort duty for some reason or another, and have been to several prisons to bring prisoners back to Sandgate. We started the "hardening up" course at Scarborough, where we have fewer amenities than at Sandgate, and have all sorts of obstacle courses and long route marches to go through. As we are all fairly fit it is not such a problem. Around this time I was issued with tropical kit, and as the pants did not fit, a tailor measured me and will deliver two pairs as soon as possible. I might add that these pants were delivered to me 6 months later precisely when I was packing up my aircraft preparatory to flying south (to Australia).
Whilst at Sandgate I saw a bit of Gwen and Norm, Dorothy, Toni Glesinger. After some false starts I boarded a troop train for Townsville on 15/3. The trip up was mildly interesting, but monotonous. "I was interested in the towns that we passed through but was not impressed with any of them". Townsville was hot and muggy. As usual I came across a number of people met elsewhere, even one who used to work in the Cable company with Dad. I remember that the camp was close to the Ross river which was tempting in the heat. From memory we saw American troops and nurses swimming but not our people.
Awaiting a plane to the "war zone" I was on 5 minutes notice to leave. Was called on Monday, left for Garbutt Airfield, had doughnuts and coffee handed out by some attractive American Red Cross girls but after all that the aircraft was u/s and we had to return to camp. Went for a swim and saw Dave Evans and George Scrimgour who were also bound for Morotai.
25/4/45 flew to Merauke in 5 hours in a C47, and spent the night there before flying on to Morotai. This flight was a revelation . After the heat and humidity of Merauke , where you could cut the air with a knife, the flight path took us over very high mountains and consequently low temperatures occurred in the plane which in those days was not pressurised. The type of scenery was new to me and I had not appreciated that such mountain peaks, up to 15000feet, were present in New Guinea.
On 27th April Jeff Dean and I were posted to 452 Squadron where Al Blumer from Parkes was already a member. A couple of days was spent in getting settled and obtaining equipment, and then on Monday I had my first flight in a Spitfire Mark 8. Very impressive aircraft with greater speed and rate of climb than the Mark5 which we flew at Parkes. (List of pilots in the Squadron in Appendix). This of course was one of the famous Australian Fighter Squadrons, formed in Britain and had many of the great fliers of the era as members. I have not seen a history of the unit, but will try to find out if such exists.
Some of the following diary entries are typical of "between posting lethargy". On Tuesday 8th May the end of the European war was announced. Obviously as the war in the Pacific was still producing casualties we were not too receptive to messages proclaiming that "The War" had ended. For many it had, and those who were demobilised from the European theatre must have breathed huge sighs of relief. There were compensations for them, however, as they had on their return the choice of the jobs that were going. We still sit in tropical heat, swatting mosquitos, eating dehydrated potatoes awaiting the next air-raid (slight exaggeration). Waiting around seems to be a strange occupation for someone on Active Service. It does however seem to be par for the course. The war has moved away from Morotai except that there are still plenty of Japanese on neighbouring islands but we are only flying the odd sortie to those. They will be by-passed during the next moves. During this waiting around we have been swimming a lot and the coral reefs are beautiful to behold as are the reef fish among them. A diary note tells also of four of us (McNaughton, Blue Colyer, John Dehnert and self) going out in a rowing boat and attempting to fish but with no catch resulting. Later efforts brought rewards. Here I should insert the rather interesting coincidence that I had met Blue Colyer years before, in Sydney when we visited the family in Rose Bay, as the father had been in the Cable company with Dad before going on to the export company Colyer Watson. Quite a few days have gone by without any flying so have caught up with equipment including modifying an American oxygen mask and microphone to replace the issue items. Also I have bumped into several fellows met elsewhere. Dave Lowing I seem to bump into at every stop. This time he wanted to take me up in an Auster, and came out with the classic remark "...tricky little aircraft near the ground".(There was an element of face-saving in this as he dearly wanted to fly Spits, as did many others I met and who usually gave this away by similar remarks). The flight in the Auster did not eventuate.
At the end of practice squadron formation flying, Clive Miller undershot and was killed. He was a nice, friendly guy.
B flight did squadron formation and Clive Miller crashed on the approach and was killed-he was a nice guy.
At last I had the chance to do some squadron formation. In hindsight this was preparation for our long flight to our next area of operations. Another TSS old boy was here on Kittyhawks, Bill George.
More squadron formation-Blue Colyer dropped out and I followed him down, but lost sight of him. He rejoined the group without notice and I circled for 30 minutes seeing nothing. The film shows every night were worthwhile as they were mostly first release. Met up with Bill Gilfillan who showed me over a Beaufighter and I showed him a Spitfire. He was later killed in Tawi Tawi as I heard running into cables stretched across a valley. Note on diary entry for 31/5/45 says "Commission promulgated" but this must have been entered later as I am sure I was unaware until the time of demobilisation.
More squadron formation again today. A new member of the squadron arrived from Perth today and as it turned out we became room/tent mates and stayed firm friends over the years-his name was Daryl Halliday.(2/6/45). Had an aircraft allocated to me for my use only--QY-X, and later I think I know why I got that one.
The wet season seems to have set in as we have had rain each day all day. We should have left this area some days ago. Met up with J.Z.Smith from TSS here in the army(2/12 AIF).
On 22/6 there was an air raid, one aircraft dropping bombs in the harbour area. No scramble. Next day Bill and I and then John and Dal did a low level sweep around the coast of the Halmaheras down to the South Lolodas. Saw some shot up barges, many natives and canoes. MacNaughton posted south and we gathered cassavas, bananas, pawpaws, sugar cane and pineapples.