Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Arthur "Snowy" Burgess joined the RAAF on the 27th March, 1945 just after his turned 18 years old as a plane spotter, he did the course and on the final test to graduate he was in a room and different planes went across the ceiling and he had to identify each plane.When he finished the examination the examiner came in to talk to him and said "I'm sorry Arthur you just shot down 22 of your own planes out of 24. Arthur was colour blind and that was the reason he had difficulty spotted planes, so it appears that his initial medical examination wasn't too good?? A plane spotter was dropped behind the enemy lines with a meager backpack and he had to report straight away to headquarters, what planes and numbers by wireless and then quickly try to get out safely. After failing his plane spotting examination, Arthur was transferred to the wharves to load and unload ships (read " Australia's Secret War: How unionists sabotaged our troops in World War II"). Arthur was then transferred to the air force base at Tocumwal as a pay clerk and he was billeted in the hut next to mine. Arthur had a wonderful personality and everyone liked him and the blokes in his hut where continually skylarking as his photographs attest. One of the blokes in his hut was Peter Beck, he was the son of a famous comedian at the time. I personally got to know Arthur better when he returned home to Cessnock. Arthur was a credit to his Mum and Dad.

Arthur James Burgess was born on the 23rd March 1927 in Cessnock and was the son of James and Sarah Jane Burgess. After the war he married Joy Audrey Paul, a shorthand typist, at Belmont in 1951. Upon their marriage they resided at 18 Bent Street, Cessnock and had two sons. At his retirement Arthur was the accountant at Cessnock Hospital. Arthur passed away on the 20th September, 2012 at the age of 85 years old.

Harold Roy Pearson
Service Number 166477