Laid to rest after 60 years

By CAPT Anthony Kirk and Andrew Stackpool

A Caribou from No. 38 Squadron soars over HMAS Geraldton, at the end of a memorial service for four men who perished when their Hudson was shot down during World War II.

The nephew of one of those who died, Air Force Chaplain Wayne Melrose, conducts the service. Photos by CAPT Anthony Kirk

MEMBERS of the ADF deployed to the Solomon Islands with Operation Anode have held a memorial service for four Allied personnel who died 60 years ago.

The remembrance service was for the three crew and one passenger killed after their RNZAF Hudson aircraft was shot down near the Solomon Islands during World War II.

Chaplain Flight Lieutenant Wayne Melrose conducted the service aboard HMAS Geraldton on February 2, at the site where the Hudson is believed to have gone down.

As a nephew of a crew member who lost his life that day, CHAP Melrose has dedicated years of effort to develop an accurate account of the Hudson’s demise on that ill-fated flight.

On July 24, 1943, the RNZAF No. 3 Squadron Hudson (NZ2021) was on a routine patrol when it encountered eight Japanese Zero fighters. Outnumbered and outgunned, its fate was inevitable. After defending itself against impossible odds, over a distance of 40 miles and with all but one crew member injured, the bomber ditched into the Pacific Ocean near Mbava Island and Vela Lavella.

Despite their injuries all personnel were still alive and, abandoning the aircraft, began to swim to safety. For the next 10 minutes the Japanese fighters strafed them. Flight Lieutenant William Allison, Pilot Officer Frank Kerr and Sergeants Ronald Douglas and James Johnstone were killed. Their bodies were never found. Only Sergeant Trevor Ganley the tail gunner survived.

On July 24, 2003, 3SQN returned to the Solomon Islands as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands.

Once again providing aviation support, their mission this time is to assist in the restoration of law and order after years of internal ethnic conflict.

For CHAP Melrose and the surviving friends and family of the crew, the service marked a significant milestone. After 60 years the souls of the crew finally have been laid to rest.

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