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Scotch honours its World War II veterans

Honour WWII veterans

on 11 November 2005 a special service in assembly, attended by old Boy veterans, commemorated the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. The school wishes to honour the old Boys who served in any Australian or Allied armed service or merchant marine.

World War II deadas part of our process of identifying old Boy veterans, we have discovered old Boys who died but are not commemorated on the Memorial Hall’s Honour roll.

Our list of unacknowledged war dead is still growing. So far it comprises 12 men (listed below). as we have widely different amounts of information on these men, please contact us if you can tell us more about them.

William Frederick ALLSOPP (b. 1918 in Heathcote). He enlisted in the army in 1940 and a year later in the RAAF. In England he became air Gunner2 on a bomber on which the navigator was another old Scotch collegian, John Henry Dodgshun (b. 1921). on night raids, they took off at 7 or 8 pm and were away for three to seven hours. In 1943, in February they flew missions to Lorient, Wilhelmshaven, Bremen, Nuremburg, Cologne, and St Nazaire. In March the gruelling raids took them to Berlin, Hamburg, essen, Nuremburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Essen again, and St Nazaire. on 3 april they bombed Essen, on 7 april Kiel, and on 9 april Duisburg, a mission from which they did not return. Flight-Sergeant Allsopp of 460 Squadron died in a flying battle over North West Europe on 9 april 1943, aged 24. He is commemorated in the air Forces Memorial at Runnymede which names over 20,000 airmen who have no known graves.

John Kingston BIRD (b. 1915 in Natimuk, Victoria). He was in the 8 Division Petrol Company, Australian Army Service Corps, and became a prisoner of war first in Changi in Singapore and from 1942 in the Sandakan PoW camp in North Brunei. Private Bird died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 16 april 1945, aged 30. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial off the coast of Northwest Borneo.

Alan Campbell BOND (b. 1910 in Hawthorn). Flying officer Bond of 463 Squadron died in a flying battle over Germany on 7 December 1944, aged 34. He is commemorated at the Runnymede memorial.

Albert Thomas CHAMBERS (b. 1920 in Kew) left Scotch in 1933, aged 13, and was a panel beater when he enlisted in 1942. Sergeant Chambers of the 2/4 Independent company was killed in action in New Guinea on 4 September 1943, aged 23. He is buried at Soputa War cemetery.

Jeffrey Graham CORNFOOT (b. 1920 in Melbourne) enlisted in the RAAF as early as 1938 when aged 18. Sergeant Cornfoot of 74 Squadron died in an accident at Cairns on 26 November 1942, aged 22. He is burred at Cairns.

Barton Irving COUTIE (b. 1918 in Melbourne) was known within the family as Bill. Sergeant Coutie of 3 Squadron Archerfield was killed in a flying battle at Gasmata, New Britain, on 11 February 1942. His niece tells me that ‘He was listed “missing in action—presumed killed” for years. Was it seven? I have a childhood memory of accompanying my parents to visit my grandparents when the official notification of “death” arrived together with a pitiful sum of pay owing to Uncle Bill.’ He is commemorated in the Rabaul memorial which honours those to whom the fortunes of war denied a known and honoured burial.

Frank Blaine DUNNE (b. 1905 in New Zealand). Corporal Dunne of the Australian Headquarters Regiment, at the District records office of the Queensland L of C area, died of illness on 12 August 1943, aged 38. He is buried in Warwick war cemetery in Queensland.

Russell Richard Napier FORREST (b. 1923 in Sydney) enlisted in 1942. Flying officer Forrest of 466 Squadron died in a flying battle over Germany on 8 april 1945, just one month before the war in Europe ended. He was aged 21. He is honoured in Hannover war cemetery.

James Geoffrey GIBSON (b. 1916 in Corowa) was a boarder at Scotch. He enlisted in 1941. FlightSergeant Gibson was in 460 Squadron, like Allsopp above, and died in a flying battle over North Europe on 18 November 1943, aged 27. He is honoured in the Berlin 1939–45 war cemetery.

George Campbell GRAY (b. 1915 in Kew) was a public servant when he enlisted in 1941. a year later he was a Leading Aircraftsman at 2 Wireless and air Gunnery School at Parkes, NSW, where on 25 June 1942 he died accidentally, aged 26. He is buried at Parkes.

Ralph Martin HARSLEY (b. 1917 in Williamstown). He enlisted in april 1942 and eagerly told the school the news of his subsequent engagement to Kathleen Hewitt. Flying officer Harsley of 43 Squadron died in a flying battle over the Netherlands East Indies (modern Indonesia) on 20 July 1944, aged 27. He is honoured in the Ambon war cemetery.

In one other case, that of N. E. ANDERSON, we have had to resolve uncertainty as to whether this was Newton Edward Anderson (b. 1909) or Norman Edward Anderson (b. 1912). even the usually helpful documents that OSCA assembled during the war still only use his initials: ‘N. E. Anderson died 28 August 1944 of wounds received in action in Normandy for his part in which he was awarded a posthumous Military cross’.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, however, settles the matter, naming him as Lieutenant Newton Edward Anderson, MC, Royal Engineers, buried at Evreux in Northern France.

Jim Mitchell
Co-Archivist

Updated: Monday 24 June 2013