Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Wally Perrin, as he was known to everyone, joined Mount Isa Mines Limited in October, 1931, and remained with us until March, 1939, when he went to New Zealand.

He will long be remembered for his solid work in the Smelter and Mill, and old hands will recall his tall athletic figure doing road work in the mornings or evenings as his shift work allowed.  His passion for physical fitness stood him in good stead when he was later called on to serve in the Royal Air force during the Empire’s struggle against the Axis Powers.

When the German cruisers “Scharnhorst” and “Gneusenau” left Brest and ran the Channel in February 1942, Bomber Command was called upon to attack.  How they failed is ow history, but the official records paid noble tribute to Wally when they stated “A sixth aircraft, Captained by Flight Lieutenant W.E. Perrin, did not return and was considered certain to have attacked.”  His tenacity of purpose and received its full measure of appreciate.

I quote now from “The Story of 455 R.A.A.F. Squadron” by J.H.W. Lawson.  (This Squadron was staffed by R.A.F., R.N.Z.A.F. and R.A.A.F. personnel.)  “The loss of Flight Lieutenant W.E. Perrin was a sad and heavy one.  He was considerably over the normal aircrew age.  He had trained at Point Cook as a pilot in about 1930 and had completed his Air Force service and been placed on the reserve.  At the outbreak of war he sought flying duties with the R.A.A.F. but was told that he was too old and most likely to be called up for administrative duties.  To avoid this possibility he left Australia and worked as an engineer in Johannesburg.   In May, 1940, he again decided that war was his business and worked his passage to England.  In England he was accepted for aircrew duties, but because he could not produce his flying log book he was obliged to complete and pass his training course like any other recruit.  When his pilot training was completed he was assigned to duties in Training Command, where he attained the rank of Flight Lieutenant, but that was not what Perrin wanted.  By persistent requests, and by foregoing his acting rank, he obtained a posting to an operational training unit and finally a posting to 455 Squadron for operational flying.  With the Squadron he quickly made his mark – carried out many successful operations – and again received promotion to the acting rank of Flight Lieutenant.  On his last flight he was accompanied by Pilot Officer A.R. Abbot (R.N.Z.A.F.), navigator Flying Officer E.G. de T. Symons (R.A.F.) wireless operator and Sergeant R.E. Tomlinson (R.A.F.) AIR GUNNER.”

Wally’s many friends in Mount Isa will be happy to feel that his high qualities were appreciated in a service where devotion to duty reached a peak that only a Churchill can describe adequately.

Mount Isa Mine (nla.gov.au)

Son of Rowland Arthur and Mary May Perrin, of Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. B.Sc. (Melbourne).

Launcestonian
Member of
Lost Squadron
Flying Officer W. E. Perrin, of Launceston, is a member of the now famous "Lost Squadron" which has been strafing Germany from its secret aerodrome in England. The squadron is completely Australian, even to the ground staff, and is called the "Lost Squadron" because so little has been heard of its work. The existence of the unit has even been denied. In a recent raid on Cologne the  squadron braved every form of opposition known to the enemy. Anti-aircraft fire, in the words of one pilot, came up "like spray from a hose," but the bombers reached their objective and dropped their  cargoes. Flying  Officer Perrin paid his own fare to England and enlisted with the R.A.F. because the R.A.A.F. said he was too old for operational work.

Walter Edwin Perrin was born on the 3rd of November 1908, in Launceston, Tasmania to Rowland and Mary Perrin. Walter was keen on the military from a young age, he attended Senior Cadets for two years and enlisted into the Royal Australian Navy Reserves promoting to Midshipman in June 1926. He remained in the Royal Australian Navy Reserves for 3 months until he transferred to the Melbourne University Rifles while studying at Ormond College, Parkville Victoria, earning himself a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and metallurgy, specializing in ore treatment and the smelting process.

He then transferred to the fledgling Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on the 6th of December 1926 as a cadet officer. He was promoted to Pilot Officer on the 25th of March 1927 and then to Flying Officer on the 6th of June 1928. He resigned from the RAAF on the 30th of June 1930, and went on the list of reserves offices. During the remainder of the interbellum period he worked in the mining and flying industries throughout Burma, North Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales and New Zealand. 

As the world was spiraling into what would become the Second World War, Walter applied to enlist into the full time RAAF but due to his age he was not offered an operational role, but a training role. He instead resigned his commission on the list of reserve officers on the 14th of July 1940 and proceeded to England to enlist into the Royal Air Force (RAF).  

Walter paid his way to England, along with other members across the British Empire who were keen to enter the fight against the axis powers. Upon enlisting into the RAF he was posted 455 Squadron (RAAF), at RAF Station Wigsley, Nottingham Shire. He was enlisted as a Flying Officer and allotted service number 84646. The Examiner (Launceston, Tasmania), Saturday 31st January 1942, Page 4, “Launcestian Member of Lost Squadron” gives an overview Walter’s movements –

“Flying Officer W. E. Perrin, of Launceston, is a member of the now famous “Lost Squadron” which has been strafing Germany from its secret aerodrome in England.

The squadron is completely Australian, even to the ground staff, and is called the “Lost Squadron” because so little has been heard of its work. The existence of the unit has even been denied. In a secret raid on Cologne the squadron braved every form of opposition known to the enemy. Anti-aircraft fire, in the words of one pilot, came up “like spray from a hose,” but the bombers reached their objective and dropped their cargoes.

Flying Officer Perrin paid his own fare to England and enlisted with the RAF because the RAAF said he was too old for operational work.”

Walter’s last flight was on the afternoon of the 12th of February 1942 while on Operation Fuller. His Hampden 1, No. P1156 took off from RAF Station Wigsley at 1522 hours tasked with attacking three German ships – the Gneisenau, Scharnhorst and Prinz Eugen. The ships had sailed from Brest, France for a voyage route through the English Channel. Hampden 1, No. P1156 went down without a trace with all the crew, which included -    

·         Pilot Officer Alexander Richard Abbott (404522) (RNZAF) (Navigator)

·         Flight Lieutenant Walter Edwin Perrin (84646) (RAFVR) (Pilot)

·         Flying Officer Edward Graham de Twenebroke Symons (84907) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)

·         Sergeant Ralph Edward Tomlinson (1253789) (RAFVR) (Gunner)

Walter was survived by his mother, his father had died eight months earlier in June 1941.

References –

Perrin W - International Bomber Command Centre

Tasmanian BDM Website

PERRIN Walter Edwin 84646 – Aviation Heritage Museum

Trove NLA Website

NAA Website

S Cox, PM, January 2025