Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Ronald Lindsay Williams was born on 16 September 1923 at St Peters, in the District of Norwood, South Australia. He was the son of Douglas Gordon and Vera May (nee Bartlett) Williams. The family lived at 2 Westminster St, St Peters SA.

Ron had passed his Qualifying Certificate and completed 2 years at the Thebarton Technical High School before commencing employment.

On the 8 April 1942 he applied to enlist in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and he stated that his occupation was a postman employed by the Postmaster Generals Department (PMG).

On the 27 April 1942 Ron was called on to attend 18 King William St, Adelaide for an interview, medical test and, if considered necessary, a Trade Test. He was asked to bring with him not only his lunch but also the following paperwork;

Completed Application Form for Enlistment

Birth Certificate

Copies of References

Educational Certificates and or indentures.

Ron wanted to enlist in the RAAF as a “W/T (Wireless/ Telegrapher) Operator Trainee (Ground Staff)” and filled out an Application for Enlistment as an Airman. Ron’s mother Vera signed the Certificate giving permission for her son to enlist for service at home or overseas on the 10 April, and on the 16 April 1942,  he received permission from the PMG for him to offer his services to the R.A.A.F, and if he was accepted for service, his release from the Department would be arranged.

He was 18 years 8 months old, 6 foot (183cm) tall, weighed 175lb – 12stone 9lbs (79.3Kg) and  had a fair complexion with blue eyes and brown hair, and his physical description given by the enlistment personnel was that he was “Tall, solid build, blue eyes, brown hair neatly brushed, courteous and well mannered. A suitable type.” (for enlistment).

He completed a Trade Test at this interview, as part of his application as a W/T Operator.  Ron passed his Morse Code with 4 errors, his handwriting was suitable, and his Maths standard was second year high school. His aptitude test was classed as “average”. He was considered as suitable for enlistment as a Trainee Wireless Telegrapher Operator and was duly Enrolled into the Reserve. Ron then had to sign a declaration that as he was enrolled on the Reserve, he could temporarily engage himself in a reserved occupation, but only on the understanding that his services will be available to the R.A.A.F. when he is called upon for enlistment.

On the 8 May 1942 Ron was requested to report to 18 King William Street at 7:30am on the 27 May 1942, with his luggage, for enlistment as a Trainee W/T Operator in Group 5 with the rank and pay of Aircraftsman, Class 1 which was 6/- per day. He would be “provided with free messing and accommodation. Uniforms and necessaries are also provided at Departmental expense. The full scale of uniform, however, is not issued immediately on enlistment.”

Ron’s training commenced in Ballarat at the 1 WAGS (Wireless Air Gunners School) immediately after his enlistment in late May 1942.

On Completion of the Wireless/Telegrapgy & Morse portion of the Wireless Gunners Course on the 11 December 1942. Ron was sent to No 1 Signals School Point Cook, about 30Km west of Melbourne Victoria for further training in both Radar Direction Finding (RDF) and signals experience. He was part of No 52 Telegraphist Course which ran from 1st February 1943 to 24 February 1943. His results were a “Pass” in Telegraphy, 70% in Practical Operating and 84% in Wireless/Telegraphy Procedure, an overall “Pass”.

On the 25 February 1943, on completion of this course, he was remustered as a Telegraphist, and was moved to No 2 Embarkation Depot at Bradfield Park, Sydney. At the end of courses of training, RAAF aircrew and ground staff were posted to embarkation depots, where they were appropriately kitted out and given a final medical examination before going to operational theatres. Ron remained here until 18 March 1943 when he was moved to Townsville to the No 3 Reserve Personnel Pool, (3RPP) which was based near Aitkenvale, and was the RAAF Base Pool Camp.

Ron was only there a short time before he was shipped out to Port Moresby, New Guinea with the No 10 Signals Unit on the 29 March 1943. He was promoted to Leading Aircraftman (LAC) on the 24 May 1943.

10 Signals Unit RAAF was formed in the Konedobu area of Port Moresby on 10 September 1942, and occupied the premises of, and took over the functions previously covered by, the Moresby Wireless Transmitting Station. A Rear Echelon of 10 Signals unit was based in Townsville in north Queensland.

Ron served with No 10 Signals Unit in Port Moresby until 27 June 1943 when the Unit was flown to Milne Bay, however they were flown back to Port Moresby 3 days later on the 30 June 1943 when the 10 Signals Unit was disbanded, and Ron then served with the Moresby Wireless Transmitting Station until 27 July 1944. His proficiency as a telegraphist was assessed on completion of this tour, and it was noted as ‘Satisfactory’, and that he was of ‘Very Good Character’ and given a ‘Recommendation for Promotion or Reclassification’. He shipped back to Australia, arriving back on the 27 August 1944, a total of 16 months abroad.

He was transferred to 4PD (4 Personnel Depot, Adelaide) for 6 weeks.

On the 8th September 1944 Ron returned to Signal School at Point Cook for No 13 MF/DF training for six months.  He completed this training with an examination in D/F (Direction Finding) Theory and Practice on 2 February 1945, at which he achieved 84%, a Pass, and he was noted to be a ‘Good Operator’.  

In Ron’s records he is recorded as “Absenting himself without leave on posting to RAAF COMMAND” from 1700hours 21 February 1945 until 1400 hours 27 February 1945, a total time of 5 days and 21 hours, the punishment awarded being COB (Confined to Barracks) for 10 days and forfeiture of six days pay. One source has recorded that with the secrecy of the training that the RAAF Wireless Units personnel required, that sometimes they were recorded as being AWL rather than specifying where and what training they were doing. His records specify that Ron was transferred to RAAF Command on the 22 February 1945, (day after AWL) and he was sent off for 9 weeks training from 4 March 1945 to 4 May 1945 at Central Bureau in Brisbane. He also had AWL recorded from 1300hrs 21 November 1945 to 0900hrs 2 December 1945 a total of 10 days 20 hours, penalty being 14 days COB and forfeiture 11 days pay. This was on his return from the Philippines after cessation of hostilities, so may or may not have been related to training.

Sgt Edward "Ted" Cook was one of the instructors who taught the prospective members of  the Kana Wireless Unit at Central Bureau's location in a large house called "Nyrambla" at 21 Henry Street, Ascot in suburban Brisbane.

A ‘Distinguished Pass’ was the result for his nine-week training course:

Morse; 99.7%
Procedure; 88%
Radio Procedure; 73.5%
D/F Procedure; 78.5%
 

On Ron’s records he is shown to have done a ‘9 Signals Refresher Course’, however he was also doing Kana training and was examined in Katakana as well as the topics listed. There was continuing secrecy on what training these personnel were doing.

On the basis of this he was transferred initially to the No 7 Wireless Unit, then later to No 5 Wireless Unit at Strathpine in Queensland.

RAAF NO 5 WIRELESS UNIT: Members of the No 5 Wireless Unit (5WU), including Ron, were shipped and flown from Brisbane to Luzon in northern Philippines on 28 May 1945 to support No 6 (6WU) and No 4 Wireless Unit (4WU) who had been shipped in from Hollandia on the north coast of New Guinea.

The landing and invasion to take Luzon was hard fought with many casualties from January through to May 1945, and the US troops were edging closer to Japan with landings on Iwo Jima in February and Okinawa in early April 1945. There was much intelligence to be intercepted, translated, relayed and reported to facilitate maximum disruption to Japanese action against the Allies.

These three RAAF Wireless Units, who were selected by the US Army to act as Kana Intercept and Wireless operators and Intelligence staff, formed a unique Australian presence working for US General Akin and the US Troops in the Northern Philippines.

PHILIPPINES: The Wirelss Unit 5 moved to San Miguel in Tarlac Province, about 80 miles north from Manilla, where the three Australian Wireless Units and three United States intercept units were set up adjacent to a large sugar mill.

The Wireless Units were well accommodated for their time in San Miguel. After spending months and sometimes years in the field under canvas in tropical New Guinea, this was a huge improvement! They were relatively safe here, although there were still Japanese Troops not that far away, and gunfire was incessant. Both the Australian and US Units worked together in a collaborative manner, each responsible for specific areas, but sharing data and information.

No 5 Wireless Unit was responsible for monitoring and intercepting Japanese Army – Air transmissions, whilst No 6 WU covered Navy – Air. The Australian Units appreciated the improved facilities offered to US Troops, and available to them as partners in the service. Food, sport, entertainment and religious faith were all well catered for.

On the 6 August 1945 at San Miguel, the usual program of intercepts and processing Japanese messages was going on when at 0845 there was silence on many important enemy frequencies. The First Atomic Bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, and the resultant avalanche of messages inundated the interceptors. On the 9th August 1945 a second Atomic Bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It was to be another 6 days before the Emperor’s Imperial Rescript was announced; ‘VJ’ Day on August 15th.

All of the Sigint operators including the RAAF Wireless Units continued to monitor the wireless traffic, assessing the Japanese willingness to accept the terms of the surrender provisions, which was signed on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on the 2 September 1945.

The flags of the 4WU, 5WU and 6WU were the closest Australian Unit Flags to Tokyo at war’s end.

Once the need for intercepting and code breaking was finalised, there was little for the Australian personnel to do, while awaiting their return to Australia. They spent 6 weeks filling in time with dismantling and packing up equipment and some started up their own newspaper, to keep sprits up.

GOING HOME: Ron and the members of the three RAAF Wireless Units and Central Bureau personnel returned to Australia on the 9 October 1945, on a specially allocated American Liberty Ship, ‘Francis N Blanchett’. They left from Pier 15 on the Manila Bay waterfront and disembarked in Australia on the 28 October 1945.

The postings and activities of members of the Wireless Units and Central Bureau were generally not recorded on their records as they were considered “Top Secret”. Whilst Ron’s records show he was in ‘Luzon’ with the 5WU, there are no records of specifically where he was, what he did, and what happened to him when he returned to Australia.

It is probable that he returned to Strathpine in Queensland on return from the Philippines, as many of the WU members reported that is where they were sent. However, on the 2 January 1946 he was transferred to 4 Personnel Depot in Adelaide to await discharge.

SECRECY AND DESTRUCTION ORDERS:  “All wireless Unit and Central Bureau members were warned before being discharged to return to civilian life, that their wartime activities must remain secret. The operational personnel were required to sign declarations to that effect which were enforceable by law. It is quite an amazing and remarkable fact that, through all the years, the secrets have been kept and the silence maintained.”

Ref: The Eavesdroppers; Jack Bleakley, (1992)

‘NEVER TO MARCH, NEVER TO BE MENTIONED’. “At the end of the war, Central Bureau (including the RAAF Wireless Units) were dismantled. All personnel signed a lifetime secrecy order to not speak of their wartime activities.

No promotions applied. No evidence of their Central Bureau service was recorded, including overseas service. No medals were struck.

Family members, including children, were not told in any detail, of their father’s war experience.

It was only in the late 1990’s that the Australian government allowed information to be released.

In the early 1960’s, my father mysteriously went on an unexplained visit to Brisbane. It was not until over thirty years later that I found out that he attended a twenty-year anniversary of his unit’s graduation. (No 4WU)

I write this on behalf of the children and grandchildren of those Central Bureau personnel that served diligently and efficiently when called upon, and who, when the job was done, quietly went home. They are our heroes.”

https://swling.com/blog/2017/04/the-raaf-no-4-wireless-unit-never-to-march-never-to-be-mentioned/

Ron returned home to Adelaide. He played South Australian State and League football for the Norwood Football Club and was listed as a “Half Forward in the Norwood Team of the Forties”. He married Sesca Price in Adelaide on 5 May 1951, and moved to the Riverland town of Renmark where he was a very successful football player/coach for the Renmark Football Club over several years and had various occupations over that time. The inability to talk about his war service seemed to weigh heavy on him as all his peers were able to discuss their war time experiences to each other. It was something the extended family and friends could never understand until much later.

Ron died at home in Renmark, aged 61 years on the 20 August 1985, and is buried in the services section of the Barmera Garden of Remembrance.

Members of the No 5 Wireless Unit (5WU), including Ron, were shipped and flown from Brisbane to Luzon in northern Philippines on 28 May 1945 to support No 6 (6WU) and No 4 Wireless Unit (4WU) who had been shipped in from Hollandia on the north coast of New Guinea. The landing and invasion to take Luzon was hard fought with many casualties from January through to May 1945. There was much intelligence to be intercepted, translated, relayed and reported to facilitate maximum disruption to Japanese action against the Allies. These three RAAF Wireless Units, who were selected by the US Army to act as Kana Intercept and Wireless operators and Intelligence staff, formed a unique Australian presence working for US General Akin and the US Troops in the Northern Philippines. The RAAF WU moved to San Miguel in Tarlac Province, about 80 miles north from Manilla, where the three Australian Wireless Units and three United States intercept units were set up adjacent to a large sugar mill. Both the Australian and US Units worked together in a collaborative manner, each responsible for specific areas, but sharing data and information. No 5 Wireless Unit was responsible for monitoring and intercepting Japanese Army – Air transmissions, whilst No 6 WU covered Navy – Air. The Australian Units appreciated the improved facilities offered to US Troops, and available to them as partners in the service. Food, sport, entertainment and religious faith were all well catered for. On the 6 August 1945 at San Miguel, the usual program of intercepts and processing Japanese messages was going on when at 0845 there was silence on many important enemy frequencies. The First Atomic Bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, and the resultant avalanche of messages inundated the interceptors. On the 9th August 1945 a second Atomic Bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It was to be another 6 days before the Emperor’s Imperial Rescript was announced; ‘VJ’ Day on August 15th. All of the Sigint operators including the RAAF Wireless Units continued to monitor the wireless traffic, assessing the Japanese willingness to accept the terms of the surrender provisions, which was signed on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on the 2 September 1945. The flags of the 4WU, 5WU and 6WU were the closest Australian Unit Flags to Tokyo at war’s end. Once the need for intercepting and code breaking was finalised, there was little for the Australian personnel to do, while awaiting their return to Australia. They spent 6 weeks filling in time with dismantling and packing up equipment and some started up their own newspaper, to keep sprits up.