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Australia

Arthur Fischer was born in Yarraman, Queensland on 21 February 1924, son of Charles Hermann Franz Fischer (aka Charlie) and his wife, Alice (nee Andrews). When the Yarraman Mill where Charlie worked burned down in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression, the family returned to their hometown of Chinchilla to work the family dairy farm, and it was in Chinchilla that Arthur attended school.

Both Arthur and his father had long been avid fans of anything to do with aviation and when the Chinchilla Aero Club was formed in February 1938, 14-year-old Arthur quickly commenced flying lessons on the Club’s de Havilland DH60 Gypsy Moth, clocking up his flying hours before school. Acrobatics formed part of his tuition. Sadly, Arthur’s instructor and club founder, Bob Ross, was killed in Roma in May 1939 while instructing a pupil in forced landings in the same DH60. Charlie made a model of that biplane which remains in the family.

After completing his scholarship exam, Arthur began an apprenticeship as a motor mechanic at Slessar & Co in Chinchilla and completed 3½ years prior to enrolling in the RAAF Reserve on 15 May 1942. He was 18 years 2 months old. A few months later, on 8 October, he enlisted in the RAAF Citizen Air Force and was sent for training at Narranderra in New South Wales then Bundaberg in Queensland.

In April 1943 Arthur, now aged 19, married Marie Roseberry Pearce in Chatswood, NSW. In July he qualified as Airman Pilot and received his flying badge, then on 11 August embarked from Sydney for the United Kingdom.

He, like all young men, thought he was invincible. In a letter to his parents in October 1943 after his arrival, he wrote:

Dear Mother, Dad and Ren,

Well, I have just written to Marie and am dropping you a line too to say I'm OK and doing fine and doing nothing as we are still waiting for a posting. I expect to go to the country on leave this week, or that's where I said I'd like to go when they asked me, on a farm out of town for a while. I'm sick of towns and want a look at the countryside. By what we saw from the train I'd like it, as everything is green, and it isn't so very cold, or we haven't got into our warm underclothes yet so far, but I guess we will.

How is everyone round home - the Reid's for instance how is old Bill keeping and Mrs Reid and how is Mrs Slessar did she get well and what is the news round the place?...

I better hold up on questions but well its 2 1/2 months and no mail, so I guess I'm full of them. I hope we get some mail shortly as I've read and reread all the letters I got from you at Bundy and Marie's and Lena's to put in time.

Mum has Marie been writing you? Poor kid we had a bit of a tiff over, well you know, but she finally saw my way after a bit of trouble and hurt poor kid. I do hope she is happy and tell her not to worry as I'm quite OK and will not try and kill myself as I intend to return or be a returned airman if all's well and I'll bust in trying to do that. I really think she might be scared that I'll get hurt but I've a return ticket and only the good die young anyhow. I'm good for many a year yet.

Nobody over here worries about anything so why should you worry over me. We are having the best sightseeing time of our life, and paid for it, but work is due to come but we are willing as we've had three months holiday so far and chances of more yet so why should we worry? When work comes, we'll do it after such a spell as we've had. We're due for a bit but we have a few months training to do when it does come before we finish so will be happy for some months yet.

I've been to pictures and dances all over the place and had a good time and now some of the boys from Narrandera who have been in Canada are with us again, so the old team is back with us so never a dull moment when we all get to a dance anywhere together. The hut raiders of Narrandera haven't changed and are still all up to devilment, so life here won't be sour if I'm any judge.

Well news isn't so hot here, so I'll close now. Lots of love and hope all is well at home.

Your loving son Arthur

During his time in England, Arthur flew several types of aircraft, including the DH82 Tiger Moth, Avro Anson, Airspeed Oxford, Wellington X, Stirling, and Lancaster Bomber, and received several postings, including 21 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit, 14 Operational Training Unit, 51 Base, and finally 49 Squadron. Twenty-eight Australians served in the 49 Squadron whose motto was “Care Canem” or “Beware of the Dog”.

On 4 April 1945 Arthur's Lancaster bomber was one of 243 sent on a daylight raid to attack the German barracks in the town of Nordhausen. His plane, with six British aircrew on board, broke in half as they approached the target and plunged to the ground. All on board were killed. There was no flak and no enemy fighter opposition at the time, and the cause of the tragedy remains a mystery. Although the official record of the loss reads “believed to have been hit by a friendly bomb from another aircraft whilst in cloud”, they were in fact, two minutes from target and no aircraft were bombing at the time. An eyewitness, a rear gunner from one of the other planes, stated that “It was definitely not in cloud and no bombs had been released.”[i]

Arthur was only 21 years old when he died, and it was over a town that is about a four-hour drive by car from his grandfather’s birthplace in Suckow, Germany. Victory in Europe was declared one month later, on 8 May 1945.

[i] 49 Squadron website, https://www.49squadron.co.uk/personnel_index/detail/Fischer_AB accessed on 2 May 2025.