The memorial plague in the church foyer

[Warrigal]

Yesterday we were busy with our church market day, but because I need a new knee very soon I was excused from my usual duties and was swanning around in the foyer chatting to people. I was asked a question about a brass plaque tucked away in a dark corner. It was in honour of a young man who was killed in action over Holland in March 1945. He was flying with a RAF squadron of Pathfinders, or so the plaque read. I was unable to offer any further information because the plaque and the family were well before my time at the church, indeed, the plaque itself had been moved from another building years before my time at this church.

The man who asked the question was very interested in the pathfinders and we chatted for quite a long time. I resolved to find out more about the unfortunate pilot and thanks to Google and the Australian War Museum I found out that last year, his story was featured during the Last Post Parade on 16 March 2015 - a little over 75 years after his death.

I feel bad that our congregation has forgotten him and his sacrifice and I intend to educate them as soon as I have the opportunity.

I thought some members might like to watch the video of the ceremony which can be accessed here: https://www.awm.gov.au/video/PAFU2015/116.01.mp4

It is a simple and short ceremony and is very typical of the way Australians observe these kind of memorials.

This forever-young man's story is as follows. May he rest in peace.

Story delivered 16 March 2015

Today we pay tribute to Flying Officer Lindsay Page Bacon, who was killed in the service of the Royal Air Force in 1945.

Born in Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, on 25 January 1924, Lindsay Page Bacon was the son of Victor Frederick Bacon and Emily Bacon. Victor was a veteran of the First World War, having served in the AIF with the 34th Battalion.

A top student, Lindsay Bacon studied engineering at the University of Sydney. He also played football and tennis, and served in the Sydney University Regiment of the Militia.

Bacon enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 at the age of 18. He attended the Radio School and qualified with the rank of pilot officer. His sister, Kathleen Bacon, served on Malta as a sister in the British Army Nursing Service. His brother, Lance Corporal Wesley Bacon, served in the Second Australian Imperial Force and was present for seven months of the siege of Tobruk.

In August 1943 Lindsay Bacon embarked for overseas service. As part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, he was one of almost 16,000 RAAF pilots, navigators, wireless operators, gunners, and engineers who joined Royal Air Force squadrons throughout the course of the war.

In Britain he undertook further specialist training before being posted in December 1944 to No. 622 Squadron, Royal Air Force. Part of Bomber Command, the squadron flew the four-engine Avro Lancaster heavy bomber.

Bacon flew a full tour with No. 622 Squadron and in February 1945 was posted to No. 7 Squadron, a specialist Pathfinder squadron.

Like Bacon, many of the crews of Pathfinder squadrons were highly experienced airmen, and Bacon himself had flown more than 40 missions over Germany.

On 18 March the Lancaster in which Bacon was pilot was badly damaged during a raid and caught fire. Bacon pleaded with his crew to bail out, but they were determined to stick together; fortunately, their Lancaster pulled through and returned home safely.

Two days later, returning from a raid on Recklinghausen in Germany, the Lancaster was again badly damaged and caught fire over Zuid Belevand in Holland.

Watching the bomber from the ground was a group of British commandos from the 4th Commando Brigade. They saw Bacon’s bomber on fire and losing altitude. Bacon managed to control the aircraft long enough to avoid crashing into a town, before the engine exploded and the Lancaster dove into a field. The fire was immense, and Bacon and each of his six British crewmates were killed. He was 21 years old.

The bodies were later recovered by the commandos and all seven crewmembers were buried at the scene, next to the wreckage of their aircraft. They were later reburied in the Bergen-op-Zoom War Cemetery in the Netherlands.

One of the British commandos found on Bacon’s body a letter from Bacon’s mother and wrote to the address to alert Bacon’s family to his fate. In doing so he added that the townsfolk:

"highly appreciate the great sacrifice which the gallant crew made, and were caring for the graves of the men who sacrificed their lives, that their town might be saved."

Bacon’s name is listed here on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with around 40,000 other Australians killed in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Flying Officer Lindsay Page Bacon, and all of those Australians – as well as our Allies and brothers in arms – who gave their lives in the hope for a better world.

Dr Lachlan Grant
Historian, Military History Section

Two of my uncles are also listed among the 40,000 Australians killed in WW II. One of them was also flying with the RAF. His plane was hit by lightning over Nigeria. The other was in Malaya with the AIF and was killed resisting the Japanese sweep down into Singapore.

The next time I visit Canberra I will find Flying Officer Lindsay Page on the wall and honour him as I do Dad's brothers by placing a poppy next to his name.

 

[fureverywhere]

What a beautiful heart-warming story and thank you for sharing it. We have historical markers everywhere around here. Most people pass them every day without a thought but I've read a great many of them. Many conflicts of the American revolution happened here. I mean imagine on this very ground was a battlefield...miles under the driveway and pharmacy is hallowed ground.

 

[Carla]

Interesting story. I believe veterans should always be remembered for their sacrifice. You do a good thing by keeping this young man's story alive. It may have happened years back, but there would be a lot of people not there today if he had bailed an allowed a crash mid-town. In our next town over, they have made these large memorial flags with a veterans picture and which war they served in. They may be from different generations but they were young and offered the ultimate sacrifice for their country. These flags are displayed on the many lampposts in the town.