Skip to main content

Dad in the RAAF


From the personal file of AC2 Brian Joseph Phelan (Service no 450649), obtained from the National Archives of Australia:

Three days after turning 18, Brian Joseph Phelan filled out an application form to join the Royal Australian Air Force. Character references were provided by the Mayor of South Melbourne, and the Staff Superintendent of the Ministry of Munitions (where Brian had been working for 18 months). Brian underwent a series of tests on 1 June 1944: at his medical examination he was recorded at 67 inches (170cm) and 140 pounds (63.5kg); his complexion was described as dark, eyes brown and hair dark. Vision results differ between eyes: his right had a visual acuity of 6/9, left 6/6. In his aptitude test, he scored ‘very good’ for numerical calculation, capacity for plans and designs, and mechanical aptitude; ‘good’ for general intelligence and borderline ‘average’/’good’ for speed and accuracy at routine. Overall he was considered ‘educationally qualified’ for Air Crew.

On his interview form, Brian’s previous service experience was listed as two to three months’ ATC (Air Training Corps), No 104 Squad, which he had not been able to attend regularly on account of work. When asked if he would be willing to serve in the ground staff, his answer was no, he would prefer the Army. He was described as neatly dressed, good-mannered and well (but quietly) spoken, with above average intelligence/accuracy/alertness. He listed sporting interests of football, swimming and handball. His personality was ‘reserved’ but overall was a ‘pleasant youth.’ Recommendations from the Recruit Centre report were that he was ‘suitable’ and ‘good material.’

A week later, permission was given for Brian to be enlisted, and he swore the oath to serve on 13 June. A police check was carried out, and from enquiries made, Brian was thought to be a ‘sober, honest and respectable man.’ He then waited several months before being called for a further medical examination on 15 January 1945. Brian eventually officially enlisted in the RAAF at the No. 1 Recruiting Centre, Melbourne, on 23 February 1945 aged 18 years and 9 months. He was assigned the rank of Aircraftman 2 in Air Crew V. The following day he was posted to the No. 2 Initial Training School in Bradfield Park, Sydney, for training. On 11 June he moved to 'ISD' (Inter-Allied Services Department?) then on 17 July he was posted back to Melbourne to the No 1 Engineering School at Ascot Vale. The war ended within two months, on 2 September 1945. He was moved to 1 PD (Personnel Depot) on 7 September, before being discharged on demobilisation on 14 September.

Several years later Brian received his Certificate of Service and Discharge on 2 August 1953, and badge 11 August.


This service record also is notable in that Brian lists the subjects he studied when obtaining his Intermediate (Dec 1940) and Leaving (Dec 1941) Certificates, while at Christian Brothers College, East Melbourne: in both years he studied English, Latin, French, Chemistry and Physics; for his Intermediate he also took Algebra, Arithmetic, British History & Civics and Geometry, while for his Leaving he also took Maths II & III.




Above is a drawing Brian made describing a typical day during his training at Bradfield Park, sent back to his future wife Amy in Melbourne



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tommy Roundhead: The Most Lawless Lawless of All

With the number of Lawlesses in my family tree, it was only a matter of time until I found one that truly lived up to the name. At first, I was incredulous at the discovery of this man's litany of 'drunk and disorderly' and obscene language charges, incurred far and wide. But upon closer reading of a handful of his convictions, I realised there was a darker and more disturbing side, and that this was perhaps a very troubled individual. Mugshot of Thomas Lawless from the records of the Bathurst Gaol Thomas Lawless was the second child of Patrick and Catherine (Kitty) Lawless. He was born about 1844 in Macedon, Victoria, but currently we know little about his early life. However, the Ancestry website revealed several 'hints' to NSW Gaol Description and Entrance Book records for a Thomas Lawless born about 1846 in Victoria, so thought I might be onto something. I had to be careful though, as there was more than one Thomas Lawless in the colonies around this time. A sea...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Wreck of the Nashwauk

Back in October, I wrote about my Italian ancestor Antony Gasperino 'jumping ship' from the General Hewitt at Portland, Victoria in 1856. A little over a year before Gasperino's unconventional arrival, his future wife Hannah Hourigan (sometimes known as Hannah Hogan) had her own eventful introduction to Australia. Hannah was born about 1837 in Cork, Ireland; her father Matthew was a blacksmith but we do not know the name of her mother. Possibly Hannah was orphaned at a young age and with Ireland reeling from the devastation of the potato famine, was one of many single girls enticed to improve her lot by emigrating to Australia. And so on 14 February 1855 at Liverpool, 18-year old Hannah was one of 130 single Irish servant girls boarding the Nashwauk : an 18-month old, three-masted wooden-rigged sailing ship carrying  300 emigrants   bound for South Australia.*  Captained by Archibald McIntyre, the Nashwauk had an uneventful 89-day voyage to reach Gulf St Vincent. Having...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Sacrifice, By Any Name

Prologue Before launching into today's story, I thought I might give an update on how my research is going. I started this blog back in 2019 as a way of communicating some of the more interesting stories about past family members, as I embarked on a 'redo' of all my original research. Having completed my Family History Diploma the year before, I'd learnt the importance of verifying information, and my family tree had plenty of information with no proven sources.  Across the last four years I have completed the 'redo' of seven lines of the family: Phelan, Gasperino, Cowan and Davenport on Dad's side, and Atkin, Collins and Kenny on Mum's. I have also done a lot of work on the remaining maternal line, Lawless. But this line's Australian history goes back an extra generation, and has not just one but five brothers who emigrated here, so it represents by far the largest chunk of work to get through. As of now, I estimate that I've completed about 85%...
Post a Comment
Read more