Raoul Ellery THORPE was born in Adelaide on 18 April 1922, the youngest of three children of Harold Archibald THORPE and Anita Una THORPE (nee PHILLIPS). Harold THORPE was manager of the Victor Harbor branch of the Savings Bank of South Australia during their children’s years of education.
Raoul was educated at Victor Harbor Primary School and High School, the latter for the years 1935 to 1938. Upon leaving school, he was employed as a bank officer with the National Bank of Australia at the Mt Barker branch. On 11 September 1941, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and was selected for training as an air cadet.
Raoul undertook his initial training at No 5 Initial Training School (ITS) at Pearce (WA) and upon successful completion of the air cadet training, he was mustered for pilot training. Transferred to No 9 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) at Cunderin (WA); the Elementary Flying Training Schools determined whether an air cadet was best suited for single or multi-engine aircraft. Whilst at 9 EFTS, Raoul was charged with flying “his Tiger Moth so low as likely to cause unnecessary annoyance to persons on the ground”; his punishment was 14 days forfeiture of pay.
Raoul was classed as proficient and selected for training on twin-engine aircraft; posted to No 4 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) at Geraldton (WA), he trained on Anson aircraft. On completion of the course he qualified as a pilot and was awarded his Flying Badge on 15 May 1942 and promoted to the rank of sergeant pilot.
At this time, the majority of aircrew were destined for service in the United Kingdom under the Commonwealth’s Empire Air Training Scheme (E.A.T.S.), later called the British Air Training Scheme (B.A.T.S.). The Scheme fell under the grand Allied policy of “defeat Germany first”.
After pre-embarkation leave, Raoul entrained to Melbourne and underwent final medical examinations at No 1 Embarkation Depot (ED) at Ascot Vale before travelling to Sydney. He, along with hundreds of other RAAF servicemen, sailed from Sydney on 24 August 1942 most likely aboard either the SS Lurline, Monterey or Maropisa – ships of the American Matson Lines that had been converted from former luxury passenger liners to fast troopships. These vessels generally had a speed of 22 knots and sailed across the Pacific unescorted as they had the capacity to outrun enemy submarines.
On arrival at San Francisco, the airmen travelled by train to Vancouver and then onto Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they awaited for the next convoy for the United Kingdom. Raoul’s service file reveals he arrived at No 3 Personnel Reception Centre at Bournemouth, England on 18 November 1942. This depot was the principal transit depot for Australians; the airmen spent their time training and were granted generous stints of leave until they were posted to their next unit for advanced training.
Raoul was posted to No 15 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit, or No 15 (P) AFU for training on Wellington bombers. On 10 January 1943, Raoul was promoted to the rank of Flight Sergeant; on 14 April 1943 he was at No 27 Operational Training Unit (OTU), the principal OTU for Australian airmen. At these OTU’s aircrew were given specialised training by combat-experienced pilots and aircrew; it was also where the crews came together – pilots, wireless/air gunners, bomb aimers, navigators – and it was here Raoul formed up with his future Wellington crew.
On 5 July 1943, Raoul and his fellow crewmembers:- 410459 Flight Sergeant (FLT SGT) Charles Robert COWAN (Navigator), of Melbourne; RAAF 410177 FLT SGT David Poole SPEECHLEY, (Bomb Aimer), of Melbourne; RAAF 415379 FLT SGT Wilfred HARPER, (Wireless Operator Air Gunner), of Perth and RAAF 400392 Warrant Officer (W-O) Jack HARRISON-OWEN (Rear Gunner), of Melbourne, were posted to No 466 Squadron RAAF at Leconfield in Yorkshire. No 466 Squadron was an Australian “Article XV Squadron” and formed part of RAF Bomber Command.
The Squadron was equipped with Vickers Wellington medium bombers. The Squadron formed part of No 4 Group, RAF Bomber Command, and flew its first operational mission on 13 January 1943. This mission mostly involved laying mines along Germany’s North Sea coast, an activity that would become one of the mainstays of the Squadron’s activities in ensuing months.
In the absence of Raoul’s flying logbook, we are unable to determine how many operational missions he and his fellow crewmen undertook. We do know that on the night of 25 July 1943, their aircraft, Wellington HX580 with the call-sign HD-C, took off from RAF Leconfield at 2246 hours as part of a 705-strong bomber force to bomb Essen, Germany; their bomb load consisted of 2 x 500lb, 4 x SBC-90, 30 x 4 SBC-8 bombs. Ten aircraft from the Squadron took part in the raid and HX580 was the only aircraft of the Squadron that failed to return.
According to the website Wings to Victory, not only the Krupp factories in Essen were hit hard but also another 51 factories were virtually destroyed and 83 others damaged to a greater or lesser extent with all the consequences of production failures. The bombing results were achieved with the losses of only 26 aircraft – partly thanks to the use of window – and two of the losses could be traced to near the Zeeland airspace.
Post-war, it was established that the aircraft was shot down by a German flak-ship of the KTB 13th Outpost Flotilla (RM 72-155) at 0152 hours on 27 July. The Wellington crashed into the sea and all the crew were killed.
FLT SGT COWAN’s body was recovered from the shore at Noordwijk-Katwijk on 10 August 1943; he is buried in the General Cemetery at Noorwijk, which is situated to the north of Den Haag on the coast; locality Zud-Holland, Netherlands.
FLT SGT SPEECHLEY and WO HARRISON-OWEN are buried in The Hague (West Duin) General Cemetery, which is located in a suburb in the south-west district of The Hague. The Cemetery is in Ockenburgstraat in Loosduinen, locality Zud-Holland, Netherlands.
As no trace could be found of FLT SGT THORPE and FLT SGT HARPER, their names are commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, in Surrey, England.
Raoul’s older brother, Wynton Powell THORPE (born 17 July 1920), enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 29 April 1940 and later qualified as a pilot. He served with No 10 Squadron RAAF in England with distinction and after injures suffered when his Sunderland crashed in atrocious weather, he was hospitalised and repatriated back to Australia. Demobilised on 28 March 1946, Wynton died 0n 12 July 2008 at Sheoak Lodge, Millicent; he was 87.
References:
(1) Enlistment photograph of 416794 Raoul Ellery THORPE, from his service file; the digital image was purchased from the National Archives of Australia.
(2) A map downloaded from the website Wings to Victory, on 22 December 2010 indicates where FLT SGT THORPE’s aircraft crashed in the North Sea after it was shot down by a flak-ship.
(3) Article in The Victor Harbour Times’ edition of Friday, 24 March 1944 confirming that FLT SGT THORPE’s presumption of death.
(4) Extract from Alan STORR’s RAAF WW2 fatalities, volume 15 – 466 RAAF Squadron RAF Bomber Command recording the loss of Wellington HX580.
(5) The entrance to the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, England; this photograph, and the following two images, were taken by Victor Harbor RSL members Ian and Janet MILNES on 22 September 2011. The Memorial commemorated the airmen and airwomen from the Commonwealth who died during World War Two and who have no known grave.
(6) The plaque at the entrance of the Air Forces Memorial; of the 20,275 identified casualties commemorated on the Memorial, are 1397 Australians commemorated on the Memorial.
(7) The panel showing FLT SGT THORPE’s inscription; the names are inscribed in the following order:- year of death, name of Air Force (e.g. Royal Air Force) then by rank seniority.
Service file of 416794 Raoul Ellery THORPE purchased from the National Archives of Australia by the Victor Harbor RSL.