Walkerville WWII RAAF veteran commemorates Anzac Day

Legion of Honour recipient Donald (Don) survived being shot down over Europe during World War II. Now 101, he will commemorate Anzac Day from his home at Bolton Clarke Walkerville.

Born and raised in Broken Hill, Don was 18 in 1943 when he registered for military service and enlisted with the RAAF, initially wanting to be pilot.

“We started with basic training and then did advanced training to become ready for active service and in my case that was at Bomber Command,” Don says.

Once his training was complete, Don was sent over to the frontline in Europe during World War II, experiencing many close encounters.

“On one occasion we were unfortunately shot down by anti-aircraft and had to bail out.

“I remember it was daylight over France and the seven of us ended up with not even a scratch after we had to parachute out.

“The pilot had to stay with the aircraft and managed to land it even though the petrol tank had a massive hole and one of the engines on the wing was on fire.”

After his initial service with the RAAF, Don and some of his comrades headed back to England to join the RAF.

“A number of us decided to rejoin the RAF for personal reasons and I did likewise and had to face a selection board to resume.

“In my case I was accepted but for ground duties, as air gunners were no longer accepted then – I was there five years and was based in Zimbabwe.”

In 2016 at the age of 92, Don was appointed a Chevalier (Knight, 5^th Class) of the Order of the Legion of Honour (France) for his contribution to the liberation of France during World War II.

The centenarian recently celebrated his 101^st birthday on 16^th March and will be commemorating Anzac Day during Walkerville’s service laying a wreath as he has done for the last eight years.