Ron was a member of 463 Squadron of Bomber Command and was a navigator on Lancaster aircraft. On 26 September 1944 while on a bombing mission over France, Ron's plane came down. This is the AWM record of the flight. Ron and the rest of the crew are buried at Wissant Communal Cemetery near Pas De Calais. This link shows the panel at the AWM where Ron is listed.
Ron's family placed several notices in the news paper after his death and this article also appeared.
Source: The Argus (Melbourne, Vic), Saturday 19 January 1946, page 9
Ron's WWII War Medal came to me from the NSW RSL. It had originally been found around Tea Gardens. Using electoral rolls I established that Ron's brother Harold lived in that area for several years and died in Port Macquarie in 2009. Harold also served during WWII. Harold and Ron had two sisters, Gwen and Edna. It didn't take long to follow both Gwen and Edna through the electoral rolls up until 1980. Edna was married to another WWII veteran, Donald Miller, who was awarded a Mention in Dispatches. This is the AWM document about the award.
Following a hunch I had a look in the White Pages in the general area I knew that Edna was living in 1980 and to my surprise I found her listed at the same address. So 30 minutes after the medal arriving in today's post I was talking to Ron's sister.
When looking through the memorial notices for Ron one of the last I came across was from Ron's fiancée, Clare. After Ron was killed, Edna stayed in touch with Clare for many years. Clare subsequently married and had four children.
The returned medal tally is now 1188.
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