KESSLER, Herbert Justus
| Service Number: | 429580 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 October 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | No. 92 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Clifton, Queensland, Australia, 21 April 1923 |
| Home Town: | Clifton, Toowoomba, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Ashmore, Queensland, Australia, 1 February 2020, aged 96 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Myall Lawn Cemetery, Dalby, Qld |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 9 Oct 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 429580 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Dec 1942: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School Narromine | |
| 3 Jun 1943: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer | |
| 3 Jun 1945: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, No. 92 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| 5 Feb 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 429580 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Flight Lieutenant Herbert Justus Kessler (Service No:429580) enlisted in the RAAF as an Aircraftman II on 9 October 1942 at No 3 Recruiting Centre Brisbane and was attended No 3 Initial Training School (ITS) and No 5 Elementary Service Training School (EFTS). By December 1943 he had been promoted to Flying Officer and was qualified to fly DH82, Avro Trainer and Avro Anson, Oxford, Beafort and Beaufighter aircraft. In 1944 his Squadron Leader wrote 'His attention to duty, manner, spirit of cooperation were noticeable ...' (NAA; 1944) Flight Lieutenant Kessler was attached to 92 Squadron at Discharge on 5 February 1946.
Born at Clifton on the Darling Downs, QLD in 1923, Herb was third of four children of Johannes (Jack) Justus Kessler (b1888 in Germany) and Erna Dolcia Kowald (b1893 at Salt Creek, South Australia). Jack had immigrated in 1889, arriving in Brisbane, QLD on board the Quetta. He was a Farmer at Clifton on the Darling Downs in 1916 when he and Erna married in Brisbane. They settled in Clifton where they raised their family and Jack was a Farmer.
In 1942 when he enlisted in the RAAF, Herb was a Farmer at Cambooya in Clifton on the Darling Downs, and following his Discharge, lived in Toowoomba where he studied Dentistry. In 1953 in Portland, Victoria Herb married Verna Mibus (b1926 in Portland, Victoria) - Verna was a Saleswoman in Portland. Herb and Verna settled in Dalby, QLD where they raised their family and Herb was a Dentist - they are Grandparents of Hollywood based Actor and Producer, Margot Robbie (b1990 in Dalby, QLD). Herb and Verna moved to Ashmore on the Gold Coast, where Verna died in 2019 and Herb in 2020.
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