EGGLESTON, Frank Joe
| Service Number: | O54874 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 August 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Cottesloe, Western Australia , 19 November 1922 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Perth Modern School, Western Australia, 1922 |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Mt Pleasant, Western Australia, 23 July 2002, aged 79 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia Cremated. |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 16 Aug 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, O54874 | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1945: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, O54874 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Johnson
Frank Joe Eggleston was born on 19 November 1922 to Francis Harker Eggleston and Muriel Eggleston of Cottesloe. He passed his Junior exams in 10 subjects while at Albany High School in 1939 and commenced fourth year at Perth Modern School on Tuesday 30 May 1939. He left again on Friday 2 June which probably positions him as a strong contender for the shortest stay student in the history of the school. His school record shows that he obtained employment in the State Audit Department.
Joe's WW2 service record is not yet publicly available. However, his DVA record shows that he enlisted in the RAAF in Perth on 16 August 1942 while he was living in the suburb of Carlisle. He served in No. 466 Squadron RAAF in the UK in 1944 and 1945, rising to the rank of Flight Sergeant. During this time, 466 Squadron was flying Halifax bombers on a range of bombing missions including mine-laying, raids on European cities, pre-invasion targets in Normandy, V1 flying bomb sites and V2 rocket launching pads.
Joe was promoted to Pilot Officer on 30 May 1945, three weeks after the end of hostilities in Europe. He was discharged on 20 December 1945 with the rank of Flying Officer.
Back in Perth, Joe married Merle Rowston in Victoria Park in 1948. He graduated from Claremont Teachers College in 1949 and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia in 1951. He began teaching in the WA Goldfields at the end of that year.
Joe returned to Modern School in 1961 and this time stayed for five years. He was the very enthusiastic Commanding Officer of the school's Air Training Corps unit until he was posted to Mt Barker High School in the state's south-west as Deputy Principal at the beginning of 1966. He was Principal at several metropolitan and country schools until at least 1980.
Joe was living in Mt Pleasant when he died on 23 July 2002 at the age of 79. Merle died 20 years later at the age of 95.
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