| Accession Number | PAFU2015/030.01 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Film |
| Object type | Last Post film |
| Physical description | 16:9 |
| Maker |
Australian War Memorial |
| Place made | Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Campbell |
| Date made | 30 January 2015 |
| Access | Open |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
|
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (412902) Pilot Officer Thomas Eric Charles, No. 97 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Second World War
Description
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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (412902) Pilot Officer Thomas Eric Charles, No. 97 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Second World War.
Film order form
Speech transcript
412902 Pilot Officer Thomas Eric Charles, No. 97 Squadron, Royal Air Force
KIA 30 January 1944.
Photograph: P07398.001
Story delivered 30 January 2015
Today we pay tribute to Pilot Officer Thomas Charles, who was killed on active service with the Royal Air Force in 1944.
The son of Thomas and Mary Jane Charles of Sebastopol, New South Wales, Thomas Eric Charles was born on 17 July 1918.
He worked as a farmer before enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force on the 15th of August 1941. Once in the RAAF he trained at No. 2 Wireless Air Gunners’ Schools in Parkes, and then at No. 2 Bombing and Air Gunners’ School at Port Pirie.
He qualified as an air gunner in May 1942 and in August he embarked in Sydney for overseas service. As part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, Charles was one of almost 27,000 RAAF pilots, navigators, wireless operators, gunners, and engineers who joined squadrons in Europe throughout the course of the war.
After arriving in Britain in November 1942, Charles undertook further training, before being posted in May 1943 to No. 466 Squadron. This was a Royal Australian Air Force squadron within Bomber Command. It was a heavy-bomber squadron and flew the Handley Page Halifax four-engine bomber.
Between May and November 1943 Charles flew on 20 operations with No. 466 Squadron. In December he transferred to No. 97 Squadron, Royal Air Force, also a heavy-bomber squadron within Bomber Command. Here he flew a further eight operations on the four-engine Avro Lancaster bomber.
On the night of 30 January 1944 the Lancaster in which Charles flew failed to return from a bombing raid on Berlin. Charles and all six of his crewmates were killed in action. They are all buried side by side in the community cemetery at Kolhorn, north-east of Alkmaar in the Netherlands. Charles was 25 years old.
Flight Officer Thomas Eric Charles was one of thousands of Australians who served with British and Commonwealth forces in Europe during the Second World War.
His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, with the names of some 40,000 Australians killed in the Second World War. His photograph is displayed beside the Pool of Reflection.
This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Pilot Officer Thomas Eric Charles, and all those Australians – as well as our Allies and brothers in arms – who gave their lives in the service of our nation.
Dr Lachlan Grant
Historian, Military History Section
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Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (412902) Pilot Officer Thomas Eric Charles, No. 97 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Second World War (video)