The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (402124) Pilot Officer James Frederick Stamford Kent, No. 250 Squadron RAF 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 (402124) Pilot Officer James Frederick Stamford Kent, No. 250 Squadron RAF World War.

402124 Pilot Officer James Frederick Stamford Kent, No. 250 Squadron RAF
KIA 30 June 1941
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 11 October 2014

Today we remember and pay tribute to Pilot Officer James Frederick Stamford Kent.

Jim Kent was born on 17 July 1913 to Harold and Winifred Kent. A native of Sydney, he became an accountancy manager after school. Kent enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 27 May 1940, and immediately began training. He proved to have great aptitude as a pilot and received his first promotion within two months. In January 1941 he was commissioned pilot officer. Sent to the United Kingdom to provide reinforcement to the British Royal Air Force, Kent was taken from the pool of trained pilots and posted to No. 250 Squadron in May 1941.

No. 250 Squadron had recently been reformed after being disbanded at the end of the First World War. It was equipped with Tomahawk single seater fighters for use in the Middle East and North Africa. In June the squadron began operations in the Western Desert.

On 30 June 1941 Kent was one of a flight of seven Tomahawks sent to provide protection for a convoy of ships in the Mediterranean Sea, about 35 miles north of Tobruk. Minutes after they reached the ships, two formations of German fighters were seen: one at their level and one above them. As the Tomahawks turned to engage the fighters they noticed a formation of Stuka dive-bombers approaching the ships with yet another formation of fighters accompanying them. Nevertheless, the seven Tomahawks turned to defend the ships they had been sent to protect. This drew an attack from the formation of fighters protecting the Stukas as well as from the two formations overhead.

Six of the seven Tomahawks returned badly damaged from this encounter. During the attack they were forced to split up and lost communication with each other, while still managing to destroy seven German fighter planes and to seriously damage more.

The one aircraft that failed to return was Pilot Officer James Kent’s. His good friend Clive Caldwell watched it fall to the sea with the tail unit almost completely severed. Kent’s body was never recovered. Clive later posted home letters that Kent had written the night before he died. He was 27 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with more than 40,000 others from the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Pilot Officer James Frederick Stamford Kent, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.