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Gippsland veteran who flew in 'G for George' honoured at Australian War Memorial

THE Australian War Memorial in Canberra will commemorate the service and sacrifice of Korumburra resident Pilot Officer Samuel Whiteside at the Last Post Ceremony on Saturday, March 29, 2025. “Samuel Whiteside was born in Korumburra, Victoria, on...

by Sentinel-Times

Published March 22, 2025

Gippsland veteran who flew in 'G for George' honoured at Australian War Memorial — Side view of no. 460 Squadron RAAF Avro Lancaster Bomber "G For George". (Donor H. W. Andrews).

Group portrait of No 4 Initial Training School, RAAF, Course No 20, B Squadron, Flight 8. Identified in the back row from left to right: 409622 Charles Vivian Tysoe (later Flying Officer (FO)); 409620 Herbert Gladstone Turner (later Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt)); 409623 Geoffrey Neil Williams (later Warrant Officer (WO)); 409627 Peter Fleming Wallace (later Flt Lt); 409609 David Robert James Stubbs (later WO); 409632 Samuel Whiteside (later Pilot Officer (PO) and died on flying operations over Germany on 27 January 1944); 409603 Frank Bernard Shaw (later WO); 409598 Jack Ruby (later WO); 409621 Roy Ernest Tyler (later WO); 409605 Vincent Thomas Skehill (later Flt Lt and awarded Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)); and 409613 John David Tamlyn (later WO and died in an accident at Wagga Wagga, NSW on 26 March 1945).
Second row from left to right: 409610 Francis James Swadling (later WO); 409635 Stanley James Williams (later Flt Lt); M Teitz (probably 409614 Godfred Samuel Teitz (later FO and awarded DFC)); 409626 James John Vickers-Willis (later Flt Lt); 409636 Donald Allen Wilson (later Flt Lt); 409638 Lindsay Charles Woolley (later Flt Lt and awarded DFC); 409597 Leslie Walter Roper (later FO and died on flying operations over Germany on 4 September 1943); 409629 Geoffrey Edgar Walker (later Flt Lt and awarded DFC); 409608 Raymond Charles Staff (later WO);409639 LAC Roy Neil Wallace (killed in an accident at Wagga Wagga NSW on 31 July 1942); 409624 Ronald Eustice Wilson (later WO and died on flying operations over Yugoslavia on 23 February 1944); 409630 Alan Robert Webster (later FO and died on flying operations over Dutch New Guinea on 11 August 1944); and 409631 Kelvin Kenneth Welsh (later Flt Lt).
Front row from left to right: 409634 Ian James Wilkinson (later Flt Lt); 409619 Edward Charles Truscott (later FO and died on flying operations over Germany on 2 January 1945); 409612 Laurence Richard Ryan (later Flt Lt); 409604 Sydney Albert Sing (later FO); 409616 George Henry Brown Treeby (later Flt Lt); 409601 Keith George Scarrott (later FO); 409611 David Stanley Symonds (later Flt Lt and awarded DFC); 39392 Corporal William Arthur Osborne Fox (later WO 39392); 409628 John Alfred Waddell (later FO); 409637 Frank Windmill (later WO); 409625 James Maxwell Vale (later FO); 409599 George Andrew Terence Ryan (later PO); 409617 Clifford John Trotman (later PO and died on flying operations over Germany on 29 January 1944); and 409606 Percival Lee Speakman (later FO). — Group portrait of No 4 Initial Training School, RAAF, Course No 20, B Squadron, Flight 8. Identified in the back row from left to right: 409622 Charles Vivian Tysoe (later Flying Officer (FO)); 409620 Herbert Gladstone Turner (later Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt)); 409623 Geoffrey Neil Williams (later Warrant Officer (WO)); 409627 Peter Fleming Wallace (later Flt Lt); 409609 David Robert James Stubbs (later WO); 409632 Samuel Whiteside (later Pilot Officer (PO) and died on flying operations over Germany on 27 January 1944); 409603 Frank Bernard Shaw (later WO); 409598 Jack Ruby (later WO); 409621 Roy Ernest Tyler (later WO); 409605 Vincent Thomas Skehill (later Flt Lt and awarded Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)); and 409613 John David Tamlyn (later WO and died in an accident at Wagga Wagga, NSW on 26 March 1945). Second row from left to right: 409610 Francis James Swadling (later WO); 409635 Stanley James Williams (later Flt Lt); M Teitz (probably 409614 Godfred Samuel Teitz (later FO and awarded DFC)); 409626 James John Vickers-Willis (later Flt Lt); 409636 Donald Allen Wilson (later Flt Lt); 409638 Lindsay Charles Woolley (later Flt Lt and awarded DFC); 409597 Leslie Walter Roper (later FO and died on flying operations over Germany on 4 September 1943); 409629 Geoffrey Edgar Walker (later Flt Lt and awarded DFC); 409608 Raymond Charles Staff (later WO);409639 LAC Roy Neil Wallace (killed in an accident at Wagga Wagga NSW on 31 July 1942); 409624 Ronald Eustice Wilson (later WO and died on flying operations over Yugoslavia on 23 February 1944); 409630 Alan Robert Webster (later FO and died on flying operations over Dutch New Guinea on 11 August 1944); and 409631 Kelvin Kenneth Welsh (later Flt Lt). Front row from left to right: 409634 Ian James Wilkinson (later Flt Lt); 409619 Edward Charles Truscott (later FO and died on flying operations over Germany on 2 January 1945); 409612 Laurence Richard Ryan (later Flt Lt); 409604 Sydney Albert Sing (later FO); 409616 George Henry Brown Treeby (later Flt Lt); 409601 Keith George Scarrott (later FO); 409611 David Stanley Symonds (later Flt Lt and awarded DFC); 39392 Corporal William Arthur Osborne Fox (later WO 39392); 409628 John Alfred Waddell (later FO); 409637 Frank Windmill (later WO); 409625 James Maxwell Vale (later FO); 409599 George Andrew Terence Ryan (later PO); 409617 Clifford John Trotman (later PO and died on flying operations over Germany on 29 January 1944); and 409606 Percival Lee Speakman (later FO).

THE Australian War Memorial in Canberra will commemorate the service and sacrifice of Korumburra resident Pilot Officer Samuel Whiteside at the Last Post Ceremony on Saturday, March 29, 2025.

“Samuel Whiteside was born in Korumburra, Victoria, on June 28, 1910 and grew up in rural South Gippsland,” Australian War Memorial curator Emily Hyles said.

“Educated at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and St Patrick’s College, by the outbreak of the Second World War he was working on the family dairy farm.”

Aged 30, Whiteside enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on June 4, 1941, then undertook training and received his navigator’s brevet on May 28, 1942.

By mid-November 1942, Whiteside was in Britain as part of the Empire Air Training Scheme.

He was posted to No. 460 Squadron RAAF at RAF Binbrook on September 15, 1943. On October 3, 1943, Whiteside and his crew flew “G for George” on the Lancaster’s 59th mission.

On the night of January 27, 1944, Whiteside’s crew in Lancaster JB 637 took off from RAF Binbrook to bomb Berlin but the aircraft did not return to base. Initially posted as missing, it was not until 1951 that the RAAF determined that Whiteside and his crew had been shot down by a German night fighter, crashing at Stuecken, south-west of Berlin. Whiteside was buried nearby, alongside his fellow crew members. He was 33 years old.

The Last Post ceremony is held at 4.30pm every day except Christmas Day in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial.

Each ceremony shares the story behind one of 103,000 names on the Roll of Honour. To date, the Memorial has delivered more than 3800 ceremonies, each featuring an individual story of service from colonial to recent conflicts. It would take more than 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 names listed on the Roll of Honour.

“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Memorial Director Matt Anderson said.

“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women died. We also tell the stories of who they were when they were alive, and of the families who loved and, in so many cases, still mourn for them.

“The Last Post is now associated with remembrance but originally it was a bugle call to sound the end of the day’s activities in the military. It is a fitting way to end each day at the Memorial.”

The Last Post Ceremony honouring the service of Pilot Officer Samuel Whiteside will be live streamed to the Australian War Memorial’s YouTube page: youtube.com/c/awmlastpost.

The stories told at the Last Post Ceremony are researched and written by the Memorial’s military historians, who begin the process by looking at nominal rolls, attestation papers and enlistment records before building profiles that include personal milestones and military experiences.

Updated October 10, 2025 5:47 pm | 2 months ago