The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (432903) Flight Sergeant Edward Thomas Summerson, No. 101 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 Craig Barelle, the story for this day was on (432903) Flight Sergeant Edward Thomas Summerson, No. 101 Squadron (RAF), Second World War.

432903 Flight Sergeant Edward Thomas Summerson, No. 101 Squadron (RAF)
Flying Battle 1 February 1945

Today we remember and pay tribute to Flight Sergeant Edward Thomas Summerson.

Edward Summerson was born on 20 September 1924 in the Sydney suburb of Thornleigh, the son of John and Frances Summerson.

Edward grew up in Thornleigh alongside his siblings Cliff, Jack, Mervyn, Milton, Joy, and Evan. He attended Thornleigh Public School, Thornleigh Junior High, and then Thornleigh Junior Technical School.

Finding employment as a junior warehouse salesman, in his free time he enjoyed playing football, cricket and golf.
On 30 January 1943, 18-year-old Summerson enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force at a recruiting centre in Sydney.

After initial training, he attended Wireless Air Gunner School, qualifying as a wireless operator and earning his air gunner’s badge.

On 26 November 1943, Summerson embarked at Sydney, bound for overseas service. Landing in the United Kingdom in January 1944, in June he joined No. 30 Operational Training Unit at RAF Hixon, located on the north-western edge of the village of Hixon in Staffordshire. This unit was part of RAF Bomber Command, and trained night bomber crews.
In early November Flight Sergeant Summerson was transferred to No. 101 Squadron, which had the highest casualty rate of any RAF squadron.

At about 4 pm on 1 February 1945, Summerson was a crewmember on a Lancaster bomber that took off from RAF Station Ludford Magna on a mission to bomb Ludwigshafen, a city on the river Rhine.

The raid destroyed or damaged about 900 homes, as well as seriously damaging railway yards and hitting one of the Rhine bridges, which was temporarily closed. Twenty-five people were killed on the ground and a further six injured. This low level of ground casualties suggests that the town had been evacuated or that people were protected in shelters.

Over 380 Lancasters and took part in the operation, six of which were lost (three of which were from 101 Squadron), 56 crew members were killed, and three became prisoners of war.

Summerson’s Lancaster collided with another aircraft over Moncel, France, at approximately 7 pm. Both aircraft crashed at the village of Mazzerulles and exploded on impact with the ground.

All of the crewmembers died instantly, they were: Acting Flight Lieutenant Boyd, Sergeants Johnson, Moore, Widdows, O’Donnell and Hodder, Flight Officer Fensk, and Flight Sergeant Edward Summerson, who was 20 years old.

Summerson was initially posted as missing, but as the story of the crash came to light, the crew were presumed dead.
Despite exhaustive searches, no trace could be found of Summerson’s body. When the remains of the other crewmembers were eventually identified, it was assumed that the sole remaining body found in the area belonged to Summerson .

His remains were reinterred in Sorneville Communal Cemetery in France, where they lie today under the inscription chosen by his grieving family: “Dearly loved and sadly missed by loving mum, dad and family.”

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving 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 Flight Sergeant Edward Thomas Summerson, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section