Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

When the Australian Government enforced lockdowns in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic Australians took to decluttering garden sheds and garages with gusto. Diaries and letters from the war years discovered during this period were donated to the Australian War Memorial in such numbers that the organisation made a call out for volunteers from the general public to assist with the digitalisation of these finds. 
 
One of these donations was a diary written by 422500 Warrant Officer Alfred Green during his service in Bomber Command from 1943 to 1945. It is believed that after the war Green gifted the diary to the family of his good friend, 420032 Warrant Officer Alexander Edward McGee, who died in an air battle over the Mediterranean in 1944. Much of the following information was gained from the diary as Alf never spoke of the war or of his life before family. 
 
Alfred Henry Green was born on 29 November 1923 in Bondi, and attended Waverley Boys College and gained his Leaving Certificate with passes in Maths 1 and 2, English, Physics, Chemistry and History. He was competitive and played a lot of ball sports, and served as a lifesaver at Bondi Surf and Bathing Life Saving Club. 
 
In early 1940 he commenced employment as a Records Clerk at the Department of Taxation as well as part time Accountancy studies. 
 
He enlisted in May 1942 and departed Australian shores with the rank of Sergeant and 40 hours flying time under his belt in April 1943. The diary indicates he saw this as an adventure as he details new experiences and sights, including becoming a "shell-back" when crossing the Equator, to his first sighting of the Golden Gate Bridge. He provides enthusiastic commentary about landscape viewed through the window of a railway carriage as he travels through various American cities, and embraces two weeks of downtime enjoying the hospitality of the locals in Massachusetts, USA. It appears that the American lasses were much taken with their first introduction to Aussies in airforce uniform if the photos of numerous young women in the diary are anything to go by! 
 
Alf continues to play tourist when he arrives in the United Kingdom and shares his thoughts on famous landmarks, with particular emphasis on the pubs and their offerings. It is not long before training begins in Wellingtons at RAF Lichfield and operational flying commences in earnest as part of 466 Squadron from RAF Marston Moor in the Halifax. 
 
In April 1944 his crew and many others join 462 Squadron at RAF Driffield. Despite some tough "ops" Alf forms a strong camaraderie with his fellow crew members , visiting local villages and attending dances together in their downtime. He even has time to compose poetry about his comrades! 
 
The Crew On Wimpies 

Please have patience with this verse of mine 
And try and read it through, 
The bloody thing can’t be too bad- 
It’s all about the crew.  
So in order let us take them,  
First the skipper then the nav, 
And after you have met these two, 
You’ll see what else we have. 
 
Ron Thomas is our chauffers name. 
He works the old kite’s stick, 
And on the ground when he’s around 
The beer and bull fly thick. 
His flyings not too bad you know 
But his crew have always said. 
He’s just a blank in the early morn, 
When he pulls us out of bed. 
 
Our new navs.name is P/O Schmidt, 
But you can call him Jack. 
He always seems to get us there and yes!- 
He brings us back. 
With plotting charts around the floor 
And a sextant to his eye, 
Computer in his pocket - 
Then comes the course to fly. 
He really is the hardest worked, 
He manufactures “Gen”, 
And when you hear “Good on you Schmidt!”  
You know we’re home again. 
 
Then comes our Beery Bombardier, 
Our glamour boy by God, 
The Romeo of modern times with the fan-mail 
With the fan-mail Mae West had. 
Jack Mann's his name of quadrant fame 
( He blew that up at Freugh 
His “driest-hit” is a Cardinal Puff 
With a pint of devil's brew. 
 
And then there's tail-end Charlie, 
You know, the bloke who stops attacks, 
With the lethal spread of his Browning's lead 
He signs his name as Max. 
His hair is always in it's place, 
The oil it beats the cod! 
Last out of bed and always late -  
Smokes all our fags the sod! 
But when we've been to Berlin 
And we've given all we've got, 
Over the inter-comms you'll hear these words:- 
“Oh boy did I get hot!” 
 
And lastly there's the W/Op – AG, 
The trade breathes work and toil, (?) 
From a maze of wires and valves and volts 
To that bloody pump for oil. 
With one arm 'round that curled loop, 
Whilst the other pumps the key,  
Two legs curled 'round the hot-air-pipe- 
We fly to the B.B.C. 
 
Well, now you've met the wizard crew, 
That bunch you all call “perves', 
And if you've read this poem through, 
God help your shattered nerves! 
       -AHG ESQUIRE 
 
 At the completion of his first tour in September 1944 Alf opts to join Squadron 35 Pathfinder Force at RAF Gravely although some of the crew prefer to move onto Training duties. 
 
It is clear from Alf's writing that the workload has become more constant and intense. Operations include low level flying over strategic harbours and weapon sites. The diary even includes a photo he has taken during the bombing of Dresden. It is clear that this period in Pathfinder Force was not a happy one : we are not introduced to his crew ( on the basis that it better not to form any close attachments in case of loss), he acknowledges his drinking has increased, there is a threat of disciplinary action, and he is generally disenchanted.  
 
After the prerequisite 30 operations in Pathfinder Force Alf decides he has "done enough and just wants to go home." 
 
He boards the "Stirling Castle" in Liverpool on 17th May 1945, just days after V.E Day. 
Alf arrives in Sydney on 24th July 1945 and is discharged on 24th September, 1945. 
 
In civilian life Alf returns to the Department of Taxation, completes his accountancy studies, and starts a family in 1958. He and Joan had two daughters and lived a simple but good life in the bush suburb, Lugarno, in Sydney.  
 
After Joan's death in 1975, he remarries and in 1982 he and Janet retire to the South Coast of New South Wales. Both he and Janet pass in 2003 after a relaxing and rewarding life in the salt air surrounded by their vege garden, fishing boat and beloved bowling club.  
 
To many it may have seemed a "normal " life though Alf did carry the scars of his service. He did disappear in the early 1950's for a short period to go sheep shearing in the Australian bush which he so loved, and he did not speak about the war. He also never boarded an aeroplane again. 
 
The descendants of Warrant Officer Alf Green are extremely grateful to the descendants of Warrant Officer Alex McGee for the preservation of this history, this legacy.