The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (424888) Flight Sergeant William Allen Slade, No. 463 Squadron, Royal Australian 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 Sharon Bown, the story for this day was on (424888) Flight Sergeant William Allen Slade, No. 463 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War.

424888 Flight Sergeant William Allen Slade, No. 463 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force
KIA 11 May 1944

Today we remember and pay tribute to Flight Sergeant William Allen Slade.

William Slade was born on 19 March 1921 in the Sydney suburb of Surrey Hills, the son of Harold and Rose Slade. His father was a pastor, and he had two sisters, Eileen and Edna. He was fond of tennis, cricket, and surfing.

In 1932 Slade’s mother died, and he became a foster son of Mrs F. Henderson. He attended Daceyville School and then the Dulwich Hill and West Wyalong High Schools. He passed his exams in 1935, receiving first-class passes in geography and history.

After leaving school, Slade studied electrical engineering at Ultimo Tech College, and worked as a telephone mechanic for the Postmaster General’s Department of New South Wales.

In March 1942 Slade applied to join the Royal Australian Air Force, and on 9 October was accepted into the RAAF’s Citizen Air Force. He underwent months of training in Australia, and in May 1943 he qualified as an air gunner. He embarked for overseas service from Brisbane on the 15th of June, arriving in the UK at the end of July.

As part of the Empire Air Training Scheme he was one of almost 27,000 RAAF pilots, navigators, wireless operators, gunners and engineers, who joined Australian and British squadrons in Britain throughout the course of the war.

More training followed in England, and on the 3rd of February 1944 Slade was made flight sergeant and posted to No. 463 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force.

On the night of 10 May, 31 Lancaster bombers from Nos 463 and 467 Squadrons, RAAF, departed from Waddington, England, as part of a major Royal Air Force raid. Their target was the heavily defended railway yards at Lille in France. Flight Sergeant Slade was the rear gunner of Lancaster KH535.

Twelve Lancasters were lost on the raid, and 50 airmen were recorded as casualties of the mission. One of those killed was William Slade. His Lancaster failed to return to base and was later found to have crashed into a factory just outside the target area. Also on board were Australian crewmates Flight Lieutenant Eric Scott and Flight Sergeants Ivan Chapple, Walter Peters, and Richard Ash, as well as British Sergeants Raymond Boulton and Leonard Pringle.

The airmen who died in the raid were buried by the Germans in the surrounding area. After the war, the remains of Commonwealth servicemen buried in Europe were examined and identified where possible. While his crewmates were ultimately identified, the remains of William Slade could not be confirmed, and he has no known grave. He was 23 years old.

No. 463 Squadron’s Wing Commander R. Kingsford-Smith wrote to Slade’s mother, telling her that her son “was one of the most popular members of the squadron, and shall be greatly missed by his many friends here.”

Flight Sergeant William Slade is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, England. It overlooks the River Thames and lists British and Commonwealth airmen with no known grave. His name is also listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with some 40,000 others from 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 William Allen Slade, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Christina Zissis
Editor, Military History Section