Annual Bomber Command Memorial Service

Address given by Mr Matt Anderson PSM, Director, Australian War Memorial for the Annual Bomber Command Memorial Service, 4 June 2023.

Dhawura nguna, dhawura Ngunnawal.

Yanggu ngalawiri, dhunimanyin

Ngunnawalwari dhawurawari.

Nginggada Dindi wangirali jinyiin

I pay my respects to the traditional custodians of the lands on which we meet, and to their Elders, past and present.

And, as we do every here evening, I welcome those who have served, those still serving, and the families who love and support them.

I was last at this spot on 5 May, when RAAF Chaplain Hayden Lea presented the Australian War Memorial with the Bomber Command Clasp for Pilot Officer Rawdon Hume Middleton, VC.

During a visit to the Memorial a few years earlier, he had noticed that our Medal Group for PLTOFF Middleton was incomplete – there was no Bomber Command Clasp attached to his 1939-45 star.

As PLTOFF Middleton was single, only 26 years of age, and had no known surviving relatives, Chaplain Lea applied for the Bomber Command Clasp to ensure it was affixed to his medal group and would remain in the National Collection for ever.

I must confess that, up to that point, I had no idea there was a Bomber Command Clasp – and I certainly had no idea that it took 70 years to come into being.

By Comparison, the Battle of Britain Clasp was awarded in 1946.

And this was despite the fact that during the accepted period of the Battle of Britain, 544 fighter command aircrew died, while in the same period 718 members of Bomber Command, and 280 aircrew from Coastal Command died, doing the forgotten other half of the Battle of Britain, attacking the preparations for Operation Sea Lion on the continent.

Today, we must also and always remember the 1500 ground crew from Bomber Command who died during the War, including 91 women.

Depending on how you count them, there are several million items in our national collection; photographs, paintings, diaries, archives and other objects of war, both large and small. From a pocket compass to the Bridge of HMAS Brisbane.

But without doubt, the most revered object in our collection is the Avro Lancaster G for George.

In one object, we can tell the stories of the 27,500 Australians who participated in the Empire Air Training Scheme and the 10,000 Australians who served with Bomber Command – in a range of aircraft, identified in the memorial behind me - both on the ground and in the air.

And here, at the Australian War Memorial, we honour the memories of more than 4000 Australian aircrew who died as a result of their service in Bomber Command and the families who still mourn for them. And acknowledging the remarkable Bomber Command veterans with us today, we thank the families that love and support you! 

I would like to conclude by letting you know that planning is well advanced for the return of G for George, as part of Bomber Command Gallery, in the new ANZAC Hall. We intend that G for George will be accompanied by a refurbished V2 rocket and Meillerwagen; the target of many a Bomber Command raid over Peenemunde. G for George will also be accompanied by a ME163 Komet and the BF 109. There will be a diaorama to explain the workings of RAF Waddington, and a cut away of all of the equipment worn by a tail gunner in Bomber Command, in addition to audio visuals displays, letters and other personal items.

We gather today at the Bomber Command Memorial.

As the philosopher Arthur Danto wrote, we build monuments to remember. We build memorials so we will never forget.

For those who served in Bomber Command, and for the families who loved and supported them, please know you will never be forgotten here at the Australian War Memorial.

I congratulate and give special thanks to those here today from Bomber Command Commemoration Day Foundation who made today possible.

And I welcome you all to the Australian War Memorial.

Thank you.