LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer Rawdon Hume MIDDLETON VC
Service No: 402745
Born: Waverley, NSW, 22 July 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 14 October 1940
Unit: No. 149 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Lakenheath
Awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), 15 January 1943 (Citation Title: No. 149 Squadron RAF – Raid on Turin, Italy)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 149 Squadron Stirling aircraft BF327), off the English Coast, 29 November 1942, Aged 26 Years
Buried: Beck Row (St John) Churchyard, Mildenhall
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Francis Rawdon Hamilton Middleton and Faith Lillian Middleton, of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Yarrabandai NSW
Remembered: Panel 127, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: North Bondi War memorial, North Bondi NSW
Remembered: Parkes RSL Roll of Honour, Parkes NSW
Remembered: Bogan Gate War Memorial, Bogan Gate NSW
Victoria Cross Citation: Flight Sergeant R. H. Middleton was captain and first pilot of a Stirling aircraft detailed to attack the Fiat Works in Turin one night in November, 1942. Very difficult flying conditions, necessitating three low altitude flights to identify the target, led to excessive petrol consumption, leaving barely sufficient fuel for the return journey. Before the bombs could be released the aircraft was damaged by anti-aircraft fire and a splinter from a shell which burst in the cockpit wounded both the pilots and the wireless officer. Flight Sergeant Middleton’s right eye was destroyed and the bone above it exposed. He became unconscious and the aircraft dived to 800 ft. before control was regained by the second pilot, who took the aircraft up to 1,500 feet and released the bombs, the aircraft meanwhile being hit many times by light flack. On recovering consciousness Flight Sergeant Middleton again took the controls and expressed his intention of trying to make the English coast, so that his crew could leave the aircraft by parachute. After four hours the badly damaged aircraft reached the French coast and there was once more engaged and hit by anti-aircraft fire. After crossing the Channel Flight Sergeant Middleton ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft. Five left safely, but the front gunner and the flight engineer remained to assist the pilot, and perished with him when the aircraft crashed into the sea. Flight Sergeant Middleton was determined to attack the target regardless of consequences and not to allow the crew to fall into enemy hands. While all the crew displayed heroism of a high order, the urge to do so came from Flight Sergeant Middleton, whose fortitude and strength of will made possible the completion of the mission. His devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds is unsurpassed in the annals of the Royal Air Force. (London Gazette 12 January 1943)
At 1814 hours on the night of 28 November 1942 Stirling BF327 took off from Lakenheath detailed to bomb Turin, Italy. Over the target the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and both pilots were badly wounded. The badly damaged aircraft was flown for over four hours back to within sight of England where Middleton ordered the crew to bale out. Five members including the badly wounded co-pilot succeeded but three crew members perished as the aircraft ditched.
The crew members of BF327 were:
Flight Sergeant Douglas Cameron (RAF) (Mid Upper Gunner) Baled out, Uninjured
Sergeant Harold Wray Gough (RAF) (Rear Gunner) Baled out, Uninjured
Flight Sergeant Leslie Anderson Hyder (RAF) (Second Pilot) Baled out, Badly Wounded from anti-aircraft fire
Sergeant James Ernest Jeffery (576050) (RAF) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant John William Mackie (994362) (RAFVR) (Front Gunner)
Pilot Officer Rawdon Hume Middleton VC (402745) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer George Reicher Royde (RAF) (Navigator) Baled out, Uninjured
Flying Officer Norman Edward Skinner DFC (RAF) (Wireless Operator) Baled out, Uninjured
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9400, MIDDLETON R H
RAAF Directorate of Public Relations, RAAF Log, Australian War Memorial Canberra, 1943 – Chapter: Unsurpassed
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line