Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Gordon Lewis Hamilton, at enlistment in 1941, was a young unmarried man and had no children of his own. He had one older sister Jessie and one older disabled brother Stewart, neither of whom had children.
Gordon attended Caboolture State School from 1928 to 1932. Aged 15, he sat for and passed a State Scholarship examination. His formal schooling was completed at Boys Grammar School Brisbane in 1933 and 1934 at the conclusion of which he was awarded a pass in the Junior Public Certificate.
For the next four and a half years he worked as a Baker’s Assistant. This was followed by employment as a Transport Driver’s Assistant. His father died in 1937 and it is likely that from this time Gordon took on significant responsibility for supporting his mother Margaret and his siblings.
As was the case for many of his generation, opportunities for post-school education and career development were very limited. Yet, in 1938 Gordon commenced and completed at least two years of a correspondence course in diesel engineering. In January 1940 he applied for selection as Air Crew in the RAAF. Gordon Hamilton's assignment to 100 Squadron in June 1943 was the culmination of almost two years of intensive training. Gordon Lewis Hamilton was the radio operator on Beaufort bomber A9-186 one of three aircraft lost during a mission by 100 Squadron to bomb the Japanese held airfield at Gasmata, New Britain on the morning of 5th September 1943. Later that month his mother, sister and brother received the news that Flight Sergeant Hamilton was 'missing in operations, believed killed.'
Wreckage of Beaufort bombers A9-186 and A9-374 was discovered Gasmata Harbour nearly 80 years after that mission. The sacrifice of the eight crew members of these aircraft was commemorated and plaques unveiled by SG Chappell Air Marshal, Chief of Air Force, during a Memorial Service at RAAF Base Point Cook on 5 October 2024.