BATTLE OF BRITAIN ‘LACE’
On Friday 14 August, AFA-SA joined with the Adelaide community in acknowledging the service of, and farewelling their friend, AFA-SA member and Bomber Command veteran Angas Hughes at a State Funeral at the Torrens Parade Ground Drill Hall. It was a wonderful service highlighting his service to his nation, his family life and his personal achievements.
Angas Hughes passed away on 24 July 2026 as the last South Australian Bomber Command veteran; his passing followed the recent passings of three other South Australian Bomber Command veterans Howard Hendrick DFC OAM, Ray Merrill DFC and Noel McDermott. The State Funeral for Angas followed a State Funeral for Ray Merrill on 30 July which was attended by AFA President, AVM (Retd) Joe Iervasi, AFA-SA members and RAAF Edinburgh personnel.
Acknowledging the remarkable service of Angas Hughes during World War 2, there were Air Force touches throughout the Angas Hiuges State Funeral. The casket was draped in the RAAF Ensign with a sword and an old World War 2 Cap. A small display located nearby comprised Angas’s medals and his red-gem Caterpillar Badge, a 467SQN Lancaster S for Sugar Model diorama, a photo of Angas in uniform with his family and his crew that he flew with at 467SQN. Alongside the display, was a special wreath honouring Angas provided by the International Bomber Command Centre that Angas worked with in telling his story.
Former RAAF Chaplain and Honorary Chaplain of the Mitcham Branch Air Force Association, Reverend Brenton Daulby, led the service. The Hon Peter Malinauskas MP, Premier of south Australia, provided the first tribute acknowledging Angas’s force of personality, dry wit, his disarming humility, and his quiet pride, carried not with bravado, but with dignity and stating that the state was honouring his courage and his valour as our state’s last veteran of RAF Bomber Command.
GPCAPT Greg Weller, RAAF Edinburgh Officer and AFA-SA Vice president, provided the military eulogy outlining Angas’s remarkable wartime experience flying 32 Bomber Command missions with 467SQN, surviving the bailing out of a Lancaster in flames, capture and interment by German forces as a POW for seven months and a forced march over 200km over 21 days in bitterly cold snow and ice. In particular, he acknowledged Angas’s story reflects the courage, sacrifice and airmanship that has become synonymous with Bomber Command aviators defying the odds and taking off night after night despite incredible risk. He also noted how Angas connected at our commemorations with serving Air Force members and young Air Force Cadets inspiring them, our current and future generation, with the values of courage, sacrifice and professionalism that he and his Bomber Command mates displayed in World War 2.
This was highlighted in the funeral with the reciting of the poem “ An Airman’s Prayer” written by FSGT Hugh Brodie, 460SQN, by Cadet Sergeant Lucy Sampson who had met Angas Hughes several times at AFA-SA’s Air Force commemorations and had connected with him in only May at one such service.
Two family eulogies provided understanding of the life, achievements and contributions of Angas outside of his military service. They particularly highlighted his support and love as Pa to his grandchildren.
FSGT (Retd) Jim Richardson, friend and AFA-SA volunteer carer at RSL Care where Angas lived, recited the Ode after which an ADF bugler sound Last Post and Rouse.
Current and ex-serving were then invited to personally acknowledge Angas’s service by laying poppies on his coffin before RAAF Pall Bearers carried the coffin out of the hall.
There were lots of other little touches such as a wonderful RAAF WW2 Staff Car on static display at the entrance to the drill hall. The RAAF Ensign flew at Half-mast from Torrens Parade Ground Drill Hall.
It was wonderful to see that Angas’s storytelling and legacy was still evident after his passing with young serving members standing around the display learning about his service and in particular, the red-gemmed Caterpillar Badge (a red-gemmed caterpillar Badge denotes one who has bailed out of an aircraft in distress in flames).
It was a wonderful service that appropriately acknowledged and honoured one who showed remarkable courage, valour and service in World War 2 surviving to return home and live a long and prosperous life whose story and legacy is now inspiring future generations of Air Force aviators.
Following the recent passings of Ray Merrill DFC, Howard Hendrick DFC OAM and Noel McDermott, the passing of Angas Hughes represented a sad end of an era for South Australia’s veteran community where their regular attendance at AFA-SA’s annual Bomebr Command Commemorative Service will sadly missed now.
They were members of a special generation; that World War 2 generation that gave so much for our nation in its direst time of need, which we will forever be indebted to and whose deeds, courage and dedication will never be forgotten.
Lest we forget
Captions:
GPCAPT Greg Weller provides the military eulogy at the State Funeral for Angas Hughes, South Australia’s last known Bomber Commmand Veteran.
RAAF Pall Bearers take the casket draped in the RAAF Ensign out of the Torrens Parade Ground Drill Hall at the Angas Hughes State Funeral on 14 Auguist 2026.
RAAF aviators salute during the sounding of Last Post at the State Funeral for Angas Hughes, South Australia’s last known Bomber Command veteran.
Image of South Australia’s last three Bomber Command Veterans at the 2025 Bomber Command Commemorative Service in Adelaide (from left Howard Hendrick DFC OAM, Ray Merrill DFC and Angas Hughes with GPCAPT Greg Weller behind.
AFA Ltd President, AVM Joe Iervasi with AFA-SA President Lawrence Ng, and AFA Vice Presidents GPCAPT Greg Weller and GPCAPT Steve Fielder.
