Charles Rowland Williams

Charles Rowland Williams was born on 19 March 1909 at Townsville, Queensland, the son of an Australian sheep-station manager, and grew up in the outback before being schooled as a boarder at Townsville Grammar; he became a capable mechanic with a keen interest in building wireless sets and in flying, taking lessons at the local aero club. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in February 1941, trained as a wireless operator/air gunner, and was posted to England, flying a first operational tour with No. 61 Squadron from late 1942 before completing it in March 1943. Rather than take the customary rest between tours, he volunteered to press on so he could get home sooner to his terminally ill father and to marry his fiancée, and in March 1943 he was selected for the newly formed, top-secret No. 617 Squadron at Scampton, joining the crew of fellow Australian Flight Lieutenant Norman Barlow. On the night of the Dams Raid, 16/17 May 1943, Williams flew as wireless operator in Lancaster ED927, coded AJ-E, part of the second wave detailed against the Sorpe Dam. The aircraft did not reach its target: on the outward flight it came down near Haldern, east of Rees close to the German–Dutch frontier, apparently after striking high-tension power cables, killing the entire crew. Williams, who held the Distinguished Flying Cross awarded for his earlier operational service, is buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany; he was 34.