SALUTING THEIR SERVICE
Flying Officer Frederick Michael Spafford DFC DFM
World War 2 Bomb Aimer and Dambuster: 455 SQN (RAAF), 50 SQN (RAF), 617 SQN (RAF) Spafford was...
Reginald Jeffrey “Jeff” Barnes
Approximately 3000 Aboriginals and 850 Torres Strait Islanders served in Australia’s armed forces during World War II. Reginald Jeffrey “Jeff” Barnes, from South Australia, was reportedly the first to join the RAAF.
Flight Lieutenant Robert ‘Bob’ Claude Hay DFC & BAR
Robert Claude Hay was born in the regional SA Riverland town of Renmark on 4 November 1913. He was the second of six children in a large family with parents John Robert Clare Hay and Margaret Kate Olorenshore. Hay grew up on the family fruit block at Settlers Bend, Renmark. He went to the Renmark West Church of England School and then Renmark West Primary School for his initial education. His father died when he was only nine years old.
WOFF Norm Ginn
World War 2 Norman Leslie Ginn was born in Mildura on 16 August 1923. His parents were English...
WOFF Doug Hoile (1924 – 2021)
World War 2 Douglas Edward Hoile was born 20 May 1924 in Laura, a rural town in the mid north of...
John Colin Ayliffe DFC (1919 – 2022)
455 SQN pilot– WW2 Born on 24 Nov 1919 at Peterborough, Colin John Ayliffe was educated at St...
Lyall Robert Klaffer AFC OAM (1928 – 2021)
Korea, Malta, Vietnam Lyall Robert Klaffer was born in Prospect, South Australia, in 1928. He...
Flight Lieutenant Robert ‘Nobby’ Trevor Clark DFC
World War 2 Maritime Pilot Robert “Nobby” Trevor Clark was born on 23 February 1914 the youngest...
David Inglis Murrie (1923 – 2021)
4SQN Boomerang pilot – WW2 David Inglis Murrie was born 18th October 1923 in Adelaide. Growing up...
FLGOFF Frederick Cecil Riley (1919 – 2022)
Frederick Cecil Riley was born in Motherwell, Scotland, on 20 February 1919, the second youngest...
MORE SALUTES
Flying Officer Frederick Michael Spafford DFC DFM
World War 2 Bomb Aimer and Dambuster: 455 SQN (RAAF), 50 SQN (RAF), 617 SQN (RAF) Spafford was born Frederick Michael Burke in Adelaide, South Australia, on 16 June 1918, the only son of James Michael Burke (known as Dan), a tannery foreman, and Vida Muriel Spafford....
Reginald Jeffrey “Jeff” Barnes
Reportedly South Australia’s first Aboriginal to join the RAAF NB:This document contains imagery of Aboriginal people who have since died which may cause sadness and distress. Approximately 3000 Aboriginals and 850 Torres Strait Islanders served in Australia’s armed...
Flight Lieutenant Robert ‘Bob’ Claude Hay DFC & BAR
World War 2 Air Observer and Dambuster: 455 SQN (RAAF), 50 SQN (RAF), 617 SQN (RAF) Robert Claude Hay was born in the regional SA Riverland town of Renmark on 4 November 1913. He was the second of six children in a large family with parents John Robert Clare Hay and...
WOFF Norm Ginn
World War 2 Norman Leslie Ginn was born in Mildura on 16 August 1923. His parents were English migrating from England in 1919 to assist family fruit growers in the Riverina. He went to primary and high school in Mildura but left school at the age of 15 and worked as a...
WOFF Doug Hoile (1924 – 2021)
World War 2 Douglas Edward Hoile was born 20 May 1924 in Laura, a rural town in the mid north of South Australia. His father was a Gallipoli veteran having served with the 12th Battalion. His uncle Private Charles Valentine Hoile, served with the 14th Field Ambulance...
John Colin Ayliffe DFC (1919 – 2022)
455 SQN pilot– WW2 Born on 24 Nov 1919 at Peterborough, Colin John Ayliffe was educated at St Josephs Convent School, Peterborough, from 1925 to 1935. Prior to World War 2, was employed as a Clerk in the South Australia Railways. He enlisted in the RAAF at No 5...
Lyall Robert Klaffer AFC OAM (1928 – 2021)
Korea, Malta, Vietnam Lyall Robert Klaffer was born in Prospect, South Australia, in 1928. He attended Nailsworth Primary School and then Adelaide High School before leaving school at the age of 14 to work at F.H. Faulding and Co. Wanting to be a RAAF pilot, he...
Flight Lieutenant Robert ‘Nobby’ Trevor Clark DFC
World War 2 Maritime Pilot Robert “Nobby” Trevor Clark was born on 23 February 1914 the youngest of six children to parents Eli and Mary Clark. Living in Myrtle Bank in south-eastern Adelaide, he completed his last three years of education at St Peters College where...
David Inglis Murrie (1923 – 2021)
4SQN Boomerang pilot – WW2 David Inglis Murrie was born 18th October 1923 in Adelaide. Growing up in a farming family in the Eden Valley in the Barossa, David went to Urrbrae Agricultural High School and then Roseworthy Agriculture College. Enlisting in Adelaide on 2...
FLGOFF Frederick Cecil Riley (1919 – 2022)
Frederick Cecil Riley was born in Motherwell, Scotland, on 20 February 1919, the second youngest of nine children. His father, Cecil Urquhart Riley, served with the Gordon Highlander Regiment during World War 1. While an older brother immigrated to South Australia in...