MILSON, Colin George
| Other Name: | MILSON, Colin George Macalister - Birth Records |
|---|---|
| Service Number: | 402379 |
| Enlisted: | 22 July 1940, Sydney, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Squadron Leader |
| Last Unit: | RAF Base (Beccles, UK) |
| Born: | Longreach, Queensland, Australia, 16 June 1919 |
| Home Town: | Winton, Winton, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Jackeroo |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 14 July 1975, aged 56 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Bedourie War Memorial, Winton & District Roll of Honour WW2, Winton Waltzing Matilda Centre Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 22 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Squadron Leader, 402379, RAF Base (Beccles, UK), Sydney, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Apr 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Squadron Leader, 402379 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of James Arthur MILSON and Valerie Aeneas nee MORGAN-READE
Husband of Sheila Margaret MILSON nee TONKIN
Wing Commander Colin Milson was one of Australia's most highly decorated airmen of World War 2.
Born in 1919, he grew up on Springvale, a family cattle station, south west of Winton. He enlisted in 1940 in the RAAF and trained in Southern rhodesia (Zimbabwe), before being posted to a torpedo squadron engaged in anti-shippping operations against convoys in the Mediterranean.
After a stint at the Air Ministry in London, he joined 455 Squadron, RAAF, equipped with Beaufighter strike aircraft, taking over command in late 1944. Milson regularly flew with, and often led, large formations in attacks against heavily-armed and escorted German convoys in the North Sea. In the closing months of the war, these operations shifted to the dangerously confined fiords and coatal waters of Norway.
Post war, Milson became a cattle buyer for Borthwicks, married and had two sons. He then returned to western Queensland, becoming a general manager of Springvale and two other Channel Country stations, Diamantina Lakes and Cluny. He resumed flying for station business.
Milson died in Sydney in 1975 aged 56 years.
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