Leslie Roy DAWSON
Year of Birth: 1904
Place of Birth: Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia
Appointed to a Commission: 2 January 1940, General Duties Branch
Australian Defence Force: Royal Australian Air Force
Rank: Squadron Leader
Unit(s): Headquarters Royal Australian Air Force/Netherlands East Indies
Service Number: 260968
Award: Officier in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau [Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau]
Died: 7 September 1944
Age: 40 years
Buried: Cairns War Cemetery – Plot A – Row E – Grave 1
Leslie Roy Dawson, often called “Smokey” Dawson, born 19 January 1904, was the fourth of six sons born to George Alfred Haigh and Mary Eliza (Whitfield) Dawson. Cecil Henry, Hubert Clyde, Gordon Harley, Leslie Roy, Hector Joseph and Stanley George. Two of his eldest brothers, Cecil and Hubert served in WWI and WWII. His two younger brothers, Hector and Stanley, also served in WWII.
At the outbreak of WWI Leslie Roy Dawson telegraphed the Minister of Defence, offering his services as an Instructor, and received a telegraphic reply requesting him to apply, which he did.
In February 1929 he married Edna May Morison in Coonabarabran, New South Wales.
In the 1930 electoral roll they were living in Coonabarabran and from 1932 to 1935 residing at Baradine.
He was a manager of Messrs. Dawson & Co., Agents, Narrabri (a buyer in wheat, wool and fat stock), also a motor mechanic and garage proprietor.
On his application for a commission, he states that his educational qualifications were: –
- Studied Civil Engineer Course for 3 years at Newcastle Tec.
- Two years on Aeronautical Studies- engineering, airframes, navigation.
- Sat for 2nd class Navigators and also held a “B” pilots license.
- Spent 3 years at Burwood E.C. School and 1 year at Hamilton E.C. School.
In 1942 he was posted to No.18 Squadron NEI (Netherlands East Indies) and was the Administrative C.O. (Commanding Officer) of the RAAF Component in the formation of the squadron.
Then in September 1943 was posted to R.A.A.F. HQ. Melbourne for duty Liaison Officer, Headquarters Netherlands East Indies (NEI).
On the 30 of September 1943 he was awarded the Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau. Conferred by the Queen of Netherlands for his “highly valued assistance, both in training and under active service condition”. He later became Australian Air Liaison Officer to the Dutch forces.
Leaning against the front end of a Jeep are 260968 Squadron Leader Leslie Roy Dawson (left), late of Headquarters, RAAF (NEI) Melbourne, and Lieutenant Colonel B S Fiedeldij (right), of the Dutch Army, Netherlands East Indies (NEI). They are having a discussion on the base of the composite 18 Squadron (NEI), RAAF which is equipped with Dutch B-25 Mitchell bombers. Squadron Leader Dawson was accidentally killed on 7 September, 1944 while on operations off Cairns, Queensland. He is buried in the Cairns cemetery..
Lesley “Smokey” Dawson was one of 20 passengers on board a plane that left Merauke, Dutch New Guinea early October 1944 and was reported missing. The plane had crashed near Cairns.
An extensive search for the missing plane was undertaken by the Air Force over the sea and land, and were supported by the army, police, and scores of civilians in remote areas. No trace of the plane could be found, and the search was called off after three weeks by the Dutch authorities.
Wreckage of the plane was discovered 45 years later in January 1989 by seven members of the Australian New Zealand Scientific Exploration Society (ANZSES) when they were collecting plant specimens on the mountain peaks north-west of Mossman, North Queensland.
They contacted Air Force officials in Canberra about their find. The registration markings still visible on the tail confirmed it was the missing plane.
News of the discovery was sent to The Hague in the Netherlands and so began the difficult task of tracking down and notifying the next of kin.
Permission was given on Tuesday 24 January 1989 for a recovery mission to retrieve the remains of the passengers and the many personal items from amongst the crash debris. Access to the site was only accessible by helicopter. The operation was conducted by No. 27 Squadron with the helicopter support from No. 35 Squadron, Townsville. The mission concluded on Saturday 11 February 1989.
On Saturday 29 July 1989 the remains of the 20 crash victims were laid to rest together in a large single grave in the Cairns War Cemetery with full Military Honours.
The armed honour guard at the monument consisted of special units of the Australian land, air and naval forces.
Relatives, especially from America, Netherlands and Australia that had travelled to Cairns, were highly impressed with the ceremony.
In 1993 all were registered in the Queensland Birth Death and Marriage register with the death recorded as 7 September 1944.
Squadron Leader Leslie Roy Dawson is on the Rutherford Royal Newcastle Aero Club Roll of Honour and his name is located at panel 97 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial.
Online Resources
NAA: A9300, (DAWSON Leslie Roy) National Archives of Australia
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Department of Veterans’ Affairs Nominal Rolls
National Library of Australia: Trove Digitised Newspapers
Queensland Registrar of Births Deaths & Marriages
New South Wales Births Deaths & Marriages Index
Australian Voters’ Rolls 1903-1980, Ancestry.com
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