Personally, as Chaplain of the Unit, I flew over to King Island on Monday last and remained there until after the funeral which took place on Tuesday afternoon having been postponed in order that any relatives who could make the journey should have the opportunity of being present. Actually, the father of P/O [Pilot Officer] Kildea was the only relative to be present…. He was very much impressed by the kindly sympathy of the local people and also by the care and respect shown by the Service in making the necessary arrangements. Apart from the Air Force party which was flown over from the mainland for the occasion the [island] Military and V.D.C. [Volunteer Defence Corps] were represented and a large number of King Islanders were present.’
So wrote Flight Lieutenant Victor Deakin on 19 July 1943 to Geoffrey Edwards, younger brother of Neville (Bill), who was one of the four airmen who died in the Beaufort Bomber crash on King Island on 11 July 1943.
Victor was the chaplain at the Air Force base at East Sale in Victoria where the men’s unit – 1 Operational Training Unit was located. From there, three Beaufort Bombers departed as part of a formation flying training exercise over King Island. Tragically, one never returned and their graves are in the King Island cemetery.
This Australian-manufactured plane was based on the British Bristol Beaufort, a twin-engined machine with a crew of four that could carry either a torpedo or bombs. The Beauforts were used to patrol Australia’s coastline and could also attack enemy naval fleets. Seven hundred bombers were constructed between 1941 and September 1944.
In the lead up to Anzac Day, it was mentioned that your RSL Sub branch is leading a special commemoration on Tuesday 11 July, commencing at 11 am in the King Island Cemetery to honour Pilot Officers Harold Snell, John Kildea, Clarence Leesue and Neville Edwards.
In addition, we will also be remembering islanders who served in the RAAF and lost their lives during World War 2. So far, we have identified William (Buff) Cheese, John Lancaster and Nancy Morrison, who have relations still living on King Island. The commemoration will be live streamed by King Island TV.
Descendants of the seven personnel and those from the mainland will be attending.
The families have shared rare documents, including Chaplain Deakin’s letter. We now know that one of the plane crew had a child. Clarence Leesue’s wife had just conceived when he died, and neither would have known. Gwen Leesue gave birth to their daughter, Merrilyn, in March 1944. A faded and damaged photograph sits at the base of her husband’s headstone, which will be replaced as a formal part of the ceremony.
When the Defence Force was notified of the ceremony, the RAAF Commander Tasmania, Wing Commander Andrew Johnson, his senior Warrant Officer and a chaplain from East Sale RAAF Base, confirmed they will attend and participate. Andrew will be mentioning Bomber Formation flying and the risks involved, noting that the crash was just a few months after the Dambusters Raid in Germany.
Despite our ceremonies occurring during school holidays, King Island District High School students will lay flowers at the graves, as they did every year from 1943 until the early 1970s.
At 7.30 pm on 11 July, in the Town Hall, there will be a community presentation on the King Island World War 2 Comfort Fund. This was a stand-alone approved fund that Jack and Alice Marshall led with an active team, which was well supported by the island community.
Comfort parcels were sent to service personnel around the world, including many non-islanders, and over 130 people sent around 500 thank you letters. Mr Marshall’s case, which included the collection of letters, was donated to the Sub-branch by Jack and Alice’s daughter, Sylvia Ransley.
Since 2013 a team of local women have been transcribing them. A truly remarkable achievement and more information will appear in next week’s Courier.