14 June 2023
The service and sacrifice of RAAF personnel who served in Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command in WW2 – as part of RAAF or Commonwealth squadrons – was commemorated at the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in Canberra on June 4.
Combat losses in Bomber Command were spread over more than 100 operational squadrons, including the RAAF’s eight squadrons and Australians who served in other Commonwealth squadrons.
This year, three RAAF members who returned after the war attended the commemoration as they have done for many years.
Ron Houghton, who flew with RAF's 102 Squadron, Max Barry, who flew with RAAF’s 463 Squadron, and Flying Officer Bert Adams, who flew with RAAF’s 467 Squadron, attended, to remember colleagues and friends who served with Bomber Command.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston accompanied the veterans at the ceremony.
Dr Houghton was attached to 102 Squadron RAF at Poklington, Warwickshire, flying Halifaxes in Bomber Command before transferring to Supermarine Spitfires.
While it’s not common to go from bomber to fighter, Dr Houghton’s role in the Spitfire was purely a training role.
His job was to play the role of Luftwaffe fighters during training for bomber crews, undertaking an attack profile to train bomber crews to be ready for fighter attack on missions.
Dr Houghton believes the Spitfire was the best aircraft he ever flew.
460 Squadron again supported the commemoration with attendance, among others, by 462 Squadron and 464 Squadron, which also have proud histories of supporting Bomber Command in WW2.
Prior to the commemoration, the Last Post Ceremony at the AWM on June 3 featured the story of a Bomber Command RAAF member, Pilot Officer James Allan Kerby, who flew with 460 Squadron and had at least one flight on the AWM’s ‘G for George’ Lancaster aircraft.
The reading on the day was done by Wing Commander Mary Anne Whiting.
