Robert Brokenmouth: Ray Ollis RAAF WW2 – A man ahead of his time
Posted on: Mon 1 Apr 2019
Recognising the 98th Anniversary of the formation of the Royal Australian Air Force.
A total of 17 RAAF bomber, fighter, reconnaissance and other squadrons served initially in Britain and with the Desert Air Force located in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Thousands of Australians also served with other Commonwealth air forces in Europe during the Second World War. Australian, Ray Ollis was one of those who was sent for training in Canada and then served on Lancaster Bombers based in England. About nine percent of the personnel who served under British RAF commands in Europe and the Mediterranean were Royal Australian Air Force personnel. Ray was one of them.
Interviewer Helen Meyer
Photo of a Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster I (s/n NG128, coded “SR-B”) of No. 101 Sqn out of Ludford Magna and flown by Fg Off R.B. Tibbs as part of a thousand-bomber raid, dropping its load over Duisburg, Germany, on 14-15 October 1944. Note the large aerials on top of the Lancaster´s fuselage, indicating that the aricraft is carrying ‘Airborne Cigar’ (ABC), a jamming device which disrupted enemy radio telephone channels. Public Domain
101 Nights by Ray Ollis. Edited by Robert Brokenmouth. Publisher Wakefield Press
