The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (420164) Flight Sergeant Edward Anzac Dunlop, No. 434 Squadron, Royal Canadian 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (420164) Flight Sergeant Edward Anzac Dunlop, No. 434 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, Second World War.

420164 Flight Sergeant Edward Anzac Dunlop, No. 434 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
KIA 3 November 1943
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 13 August 2016

Today we pay tribute to Flight Sergeant Edward Anzac Dunlop, who was killed on active service in the Second World War.

Born on Anzac Day 1916 in the Sydney suburb of Waverley, Edward Dunlop was the son of Charles Dunlop and Ethel Maude Dunlop. He attended Mittagong Public School and Bowral High School, and later trained at Chester’s Business College and Stott’s Business College in Sydney. Here he gained experience and skills in typing and office work. A keen sportsman, Dunlop played Rugby League and was a member of the Parramatta rifle club.

At the time of his enlistment in the Royal Australian Air Force in October 1941, Dunlop was working in the Police Cadet section of the Criminal Investigation Branch of the New South Wales Police Force. He was also the assistant editor of the Police Gazette. Normally, a policeman was a reserved occupation, but Dunlop had some pilot training and had flown a total of eight hours. He began his training with the RAAF.

On 12 May 1942 Dunlop married Helen Irene, and in November he embarked for overseas service.

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 British and Commonwealth squadrons in Britain throughout the course of the war.

In England Dunlop undertook further specialist training before being posted to No. 434 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force. As part of the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, No. 434 Squadron was equipped with the four-engine Handley Page Halifax heavy bomber.

On the night of 3 November 1943 Dunlop was taking part in a raid on the industrial centre of Düsseldorf in Germany when his Halifax bomber crashed. Dunlop and all six of his Canadian and British crewmates were killed.

Dunlop was 27 years old. His body was recovered, and buried at the British and Commonwealth War Cemetery at Rheinberg, north of Cologne in Germany.

Edward Dunlop’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among some 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 Anzac Dunlop, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Lachlan Grant
Historian, Military History Section