The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (405224) Flying Officer Charles Rowland Williams, No. 617 Squadron, RAF, 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 Andrew Smith, the story for this day was on (405224) Flying Officer Charles Rowland Williams, No. 617 Squadron, RAF, Second World War.

405224 Flying Officer Charles Rowland Williams, No. 617 Squadron, RAF
KIA 16 May 1943
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 11 May 2014

Today we remember and pay tribute to Charles Rowland Williams.

Charlie Williams was from Bannockburn Station near the tiny town of Torrens Creek in Queensland, and worked the station with his father. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in February 1941, just weeks before his 32nd birthday. After a period of training he went to England and commenced service as a pilot officer in No. 61 Squadron, RAF.

Williams flew a number of successful missions over Germany against targets such as Cologne, Essen, Hamburg, Munich, and Bremen. He also participated as a wireless operator/air gunner in a daylight raid on Le Creuset in France. In all of these raids, he demonstrated a high degree of technical ability and a quiet efficiency that greatly influenced his crew. Williams was recommended for and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his fine work and his devotion to duty in the face of enemy opposition on these sorties.

Williams's competence soon came to notice in other areas. In March 1943 he was transferred to No. 617 Squadron; a new, elite formation of Lancaster bombers. The squadron was formed for Operation Chastise, a plan to use a new bomb designed by the famous aircraft designer and inventor Barnes Wallis. To deliver their bombs correctly, the aircrews had to learn to fly their Lancasters at unprecedentedly low altitudes. After a period of intensive low-altitude training at night, they were ready for what would become known as the Dambusters Raid.

Charlie Williams was a wireless operator/air gunner on Lancaster AJ-E, piloted by fellow Australian Flight Lieutenant Norman Barlow. This Lancaster was the first of the wave which flew against the Sorpe Dam. While the Dambusters Raid is commemorated for its success against the primary target, the Möhne Dam, Williams's Lancaster never reached the Sorpe. It crashed shortly after crossing the Dutch coast, probably as a result of hitting electrical cables while flying low. Every man on board was killed.

Charles Williams was to have been married the week after the Dambusters Raid. His fiancée, Gwendoline Parfitt, known as Bobbie, was a secretary in Nottingham. She said of Bomber Command that they were a group of men who "were my friends", including "Flying Officer CR Williams DFC and Bar, who had asked me to become his wife ... to the end of my life I shall never forget them".

Charlie Williams's name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with the almost 40,000 other 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 Charles Rowland Williams, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.