Roy Thomas Aston Wallis
From Our Contribution
 | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 17 Dec 1920 |
| Place of Birth | Eltham, Kent, England |
| Death | 10 Jul 1942 |
| Place of Death | Libya |
| Age at Enlistment | 19 years, 10 months |
| Description |
5'9" (1.75m) tall ; 126lbs 57.153 kg ; fair complexion ; blue-grey eyes ; fair hair |
| Occupation | Bank clerk |
| Religion | Methodist |
| Address | Byford, Western Australia |
| Next of Kin | Father , Mr James Lewis Wallis |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 406269 |
| Date of Enlistment | 7 Oct 1940 |
| Rank | Flight Sergeant |
| Unit/Formation | No. 250 Squadron RAF |
| Military Movement | |
| 1st Departure from Australia | |
| Journey Dates | 5 Jul 1941 ‒ 25 Jul 1941 |
| Transport Details | HMT Aquitania Fremantle to Port Tewfik, Egypt |
| Post War Details | |
| Fate | Killed in air operations |
| Monument(s) |
Armadale War Memorial ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford) Byford WW2 Honour Roll Alamein Memorial, El Alamein War Cemetery, Egypt WA State War Memorial |
| Australian War Memorial | Australian War Memorial |
| Medals |
1939-45 Star Africa Star War Medal 1939-45 Australian Service Medal 1939-45 |
Pre War
Two year old Roy left for Fremantle with his family on board the SS Moreton Bay, departing London on 8 May 1923. His Father James L. was a 45 years old clerk, 41 yo mother Annie E., 17 years old brother Lewis R, was listed as a farm labourer; and sister Winifred 13, listed as home help. Their last address in England was 136 Well Hall road, Eltham SE9.
Roy attended Perth Boy's School from 1 Feb 1934 until 22 Dec 1936, and then Perth Modern School from 1 Feb 1937 until 1 Aug 1937. He sat the UWA Junior Exams and passed Maths A & B; History; Geography; General Science; French; Woodwork; and Drawing B. On leaving school he obtained a position as a Junior Clerk with the Agricultural Bank. As a boy, Roy played the violin in local eisteddfods.
War Service
Joined in Perth at the No. 4 RAAF Recruiting Centre in Yorkshire House, and was posted to the No. 1 Recruit Depot in Laverton, Victoria departing Perth on 10 Oct and arriving at his new unit on 14 Oct 1940. On 12 Dec 1940 he had completed his basic training, and was promoted to Leading Aircraftman prior to being sent to No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School RAAF at Lindfield where he had a basic introduction to flying in a de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth. On 10 Feb 1941 he graduated and was sent to No. 3 Service Flying Training School RAAF at Amberley in Queensland. There he trained on the CAC Wirraway aircraft. While there, on 24 Mar 1941 Roy was charged with "Conduct to the Prejudice of Good Order and Air Force Discipline in that he at Amberley on 24/3/41 disobeyed Flight Authorisation Book Instruction of the 23/3/41, referring to orders for take off and landing instructions to be obtained from the instructor". For this he was awarded 7 days Confined to Barracks. His flight training completed on 29 May 1941, Roy was promoted to Flight Sergeant and posted to the No. 5 Embarkation Depot RAAF to await a ship to the Middle East.
Roy embarked on a ship (probably HMT Aquitania) that was part of Convoy 11A on 5 Jul 1941 and it departed for the Middle East along with the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth early on 9 Jul 1941 for Egypt via Ceylon (Sri Lanka). After their arrival at Port Tewfik on 21 Jul 1941 he would have been sent to wait at a base unit until he was posted to an operational unit. On 28 Sep 1941 he was posted to No. 450 Squadron RAAF which at the time was based in Syria flying Hawker Hurricane fighters. Roy was sent to the No. 71 Operational Training Unit RAF on 20 Oct 1941 to refresh his flight training (No 14 Fighter Course), and to be introduced to flying the Curtis P-40 Kittyhawk. On the completion of his course he was held by the Middle East Pool from 6 Dec 1941 until he was posted to Air HQ Western Desert on 19 Dec 1941. Roy joined an operational squadron, No. 250 Squadron RAF, on 10 Jan 1942, just before they were withdrawn from front line operations to carry out defensive sweeps over Syria. During this time they converted to Kittyhawks.
The Squadron returned to the Western Desert in April 1942 as a fighter bomber unit and provided support for the 8th Army, advancing with it through Libya into Tunisia to end the North African campaign. Roy failed to return from a mission on 10 Jul 1942. An entry in his file dated 9 Jul 1942 was made by the Adjutant of No. 250 Squadron.
Notes
AWM records list Roy's unit as No. 3 Squadron RAAF. However, his main personnel records give his final unit as No. 250 Squadron, an RAF unit. Both units flew Kittyhawks. His records do include Casualty Notifications giving his unit as 3 Squadron RAAF, but all the rest relate to him being a member of 250 Squadron until at least the day before his fatal flight.