SERVICE LIFE OF JOHN WILSON BOURCHIER No. 432201

SERVICE LIFE OF JOHN WILSON BOURCHIER No. 432201

25.07.1924 - 10.06.2017.

John enlisted in the RAAF on his 18^th birthday and began his aircrew training on 5 December 1942.  He was discharged on 2 January 1946 and placed on the RAAF Reserve with the rank of Flying Officer.

After his initial training at Bradfield Park, John was posted to No. 5 Empire Flying Training School at Narromine to train on Tiger Moths.  At this completion of this course, No. 34, he was posted to No. 8 SFTS at Deniliquin where he trained on Wirraways.

Finally, on 19 September 1943 he graduated, received his “Wings” and the rank of Sergeant Pilot. He was posted to the embarkation depot at Bradfield Park and left for the UK on 14 October 1943. He travelled along with others via the USA, crossing the USA by troop train and the Atlantic by troop ship, disembarking at Liverpool.

John joined hundreds of other newly arrived Australian air crew at Brighton, awaiting further training while receiving lectures on English conditionsand undergoing plenty of physical training.  He then undertook a refresher course on Tiger Moths at an aerodrome near Windsor Castle.

Next came a posting to an Advanced Flying Unit (AFU) to convert to twin-engined Oxfords.  It was apparent that pilots were more needed for bombing aircraft than for fighters.  A week’s beam course completed this training at the AFU and was followed by a posting to No. 26 Operational Training Unit (OUT) at Wing to train on Wellington aircraft.

“Crewing up” followed.  All aircrew were placed in a hangar and pilots then chose the other five members of his Wellington’s crew.  John selected his navigator first (Jim Dring, a Yorkshireman), then together they chose the wireless operator (an Australian, Hughie Hollis), bombaimer (a Londoner) and two air gunners (one a Scot and the other Irish).

Training together, the crew settled down well as a unit and at the end of their course, they received a compliment by being chosen to drop the flares on a “bullseye” exercise on London, where aircraft from the all OTUs were to take part in the simulated bombing.  Unfortunately, bad weather cancelled the operation on two consecutive nights.  Instead, a night cross-country of 5 ½ hours was undertaken, with clouds up to 15,000 feet and a cloud base of 500 feet – a hairy trip.

The OTU over, the crew was posted to the airfield at Swanton Morley, Norfolk, to convert to Lancasters. They were then to convert to B 25 Mitchells and become, after training, part of the Second Tactical Airforce, a separate bombing group whose duty it was to co-operative with the Allied armies now on the Continent. An Australian, Bob Kennard, was the main instructor.

At the conclusion of the training, the crew did one bombing trip to Dunkirk which was still in enemy hands.

The crew’s posting to RAF 226 Squadron at Vitry in northern France followed in early January 1945.  All bombing book place in formations of six aircraft, usually two boxes, at bombing heights of between 6,000 and 12,000 feet.  Targets included bridges, troop concentrations, oil installations, railway yards, gun positions and V2 sites.

The Mitchell’s bombload was usually either 8 x 500lb or 4 x 1000lb bombs.  Although enemy fighters were sometimes seen they did not attack, mainly because fighter cover was sitting a few thousand feet above the bombing aircraft.

During operations on 31 March 1945, the port engine on John’s aircraft caught fire and was only distinguished by closing the engine down, feathering the propeller and finally using the fire extinguisher.  The aircraft was only losing height slowly and the nearest Allied airfield at Evere, adjacent to Brussels was selected with a safe landing, complete with full bombload, took place.

The crew were classed as “distressed crew” and were given two days’ leave in Brussels. They flew a new aircraft back to base and John retained the Mitchell handbook of the aircraft in his possession.

The crew’s third raid, on a bridge at Deventer, proved to be the toughest.  They faced a heavy barrage of flak from 88ml and 105 ml guns which inflicted considerable damage to every aircraft.  John’s plane had 23 holes of varying size.  The pilot of one aircraft sustained serious injuries and it was only with the skill of an airgunner that the plane was able to safely land.  The pilot was awarded the DFC and did not return to the Squadron.

As the battle moved towards Germany, the Squadron moved to GilzeRigen in Holland and bombing continued from this base until the end of hostilities.

John returned to Australia and eventually took over his father’s carrying business in Narromine, NSW, where he lived until 1996 when and his wife June moved to Fingal Bay at Port Stephens.  He regularly attended reunions and was a member of the Odd Bods.  He was also active in the Narromine Ex-Servicemen’s Club and was a long-serving and committed member of Legacy in both Narromine and Port Stephens.  John passed away at 92 years of age on 10 June 2017.  He is survived by June and his four children, Jenni, Mark, David and Anne.

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