The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (408266) Flying Officer Alan Louden Pearsall, No. 16 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Second World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Charis May, the story for this day was on (408266) Flying Officer Alan Louden Pearsall, No. 16 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Second World War.

408266 Flying Officer Alan Louden Pearsall, No. 16 Squadron, Royal Air Force
KIA 8 March1944
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 8 March 2014

Today we pay tribute to Flying Officer Alan Louden Pearsall, who was killed on active service with the Royal Air Force on 8 March 1944.

The son of Benjamin and Olive Pearsall, Alan Pearsall was born on 21 May 1915 in Hobart, Tasmania. Before enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force Pearsall worked variously as a farmer, as a clerk, and as a salesman for a Hobart firm. A talented sportsman, Pearsall played first-class cricket for Tasmania. An all-rounder, in his final match before leaving for service with the RAAF he led Kingborough to the premiership, scoring a century in the final. The Mercury stated that Pearsall was "able to adapt himself to any sort of game, [and] on many occasions he turned what looked like certain defeat into victory".

Also a champion footballer, Pearsall played full back for his local team, Leroy, and represented his state in football. While in Victoria undertaking his air force training, he played two games for the South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League.

On 15 March 1941 Alan Pearsall married Dorothy, and in July he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force to begin training as a pilot. The following January Dorothy gave birth to their daughter, Kaye. At this time Alan's brother Tom, a lieutenant with the 2/29th Battalion AIF, was fighting in Malaya and Singapore. Tom was one of the 22,000 Australians who became a prisoner of the Japanese in 1942. He survived the war, returning home to Tasmania in 1945.

In August 1942 Alan Pearsall 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 war.

Once in Britain, Pearsall represented Australia in the RAAF cricket team during the 1943 season, with a high score of 97 and a top bowling performance of seven for 13, including a hat trick.

In July 1943, Pearsall was posted to No. 16 Squadron, Royal Air Force, a high-altitude photo-reconnaissance squadron that flew Spitfires and P-51 Mustangs. On 8 March 1944 Pearsall was flying on a sortie to photograph areas north-east of Calais, France. On his return, over the English Channel, he radioed that he was experiencing engine trouble. With his engine stopped, he was instructed to bail out. Rescue aircraft were sent out to find him but with strong gales and rough seas there was no sighting of the pilot or his dingy. After days of searching Pearsall was listed as missing. He was 28 years old.

Pearsall's body was never recovered, and his name is commemorated upon the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede. His name is also listed here, on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with around 40,000 Australians who died in the Second World War. There is no photograph in the Memorial's collection to display beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Flying Officer Alan Louden Pearsall, and all of those Australians - as well as our Allies and brothers in arms - who gave their lives during the Second World War.