Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to commend the Australians who were in the RAF Bomber Command in World War II for a medal of recognition from Australia. They have only just received some recognition from the United Kingdom and it was fairly shabbily done, I have to say. My father was in Bomber Command and I felt quite embarrassed about the way that was handled.

Over 10,000 Australians served in the RAF Bomber Command in World War II, representing two per cent of those who served. They represented 20 per cent of the losses, with 4,000 lives lost either in combat or in training. The average age of these men was 22; most required two years training, enlisting at the age of 19. They had to be of higher education than most and of extraordinary character and fitness. They were brought from all over the Commonwealth—from Canada, Australia and New Zealand—and were trained in those various countries before they finally ended up in Europe. A Bomber Command crew member had a worse chance of survival than an infantry officer had in the First World War. More people were killed serving in Bomber Command than in the Blitz or in the bombing of Hamburg or Dresden. Of course, the United States's own bomber command was also extraordinarily badly affected by deaths. To give an example, of 100 airmen in the RAF, 55 were killed on an operation or died as a result of wounds, 12 were taken prisoner of war and only 27 out of that 100 survived a tour of 25 operations. I am pleased to say I am standing here because my father was one of those to survive. The British required 30 operations, and, unfortunately, he was only one of two from his crew who survived after their 29th mission.

This weekend, I am launching a book called Severed Wings, which describes the murder of his crew as they bailed out over Germany. That led to a war crime tribunal which brought justice to the crew and families. I have to say that a medallion or medal recognising Australian RAF personnel in the Second World War is well overdue. There are only about 100 of these men left. Most of them are over the age of 90 and, quite typically, in very bad health. It would be, in one sense, logistically a very easy thing to do. This Sunday, there will be recognition of Bomber Command at the War Memorial. I have spoken to Dr Brendan Nelson, the director. He very much understands the need for this recognition.

An opposition member: Hear, hear!

From the 'Hear, hear,' on the other side, I see that this could receive bipartisan support. I commend very much the recognition of our Bomber Command. I quote from Phil Davis, a pilot in my father's crew who was shot down and killed. He talks about a very bad night when '34 of our planes went missing in this raid over Bochum'. I have not the time to read more about that, but let me finally say: 'The trenches were in the clouds and, as in the First World War, the best educated, the men of character, future leaders, were lost.' (Time expired)