Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Sergeant William Henry Field, RAAF was killed in action while serving in No 13 Squadron which at the time of his death was based at Ambon in the Indonesian archipeligo.

William Henry (Billy) Field was the only child of William Hampstead Field and Mabel (nee Phillips) of Mannum in South Australia.

He was only 13 months old when his father, who served in the 43 Battalion AIF, was killed in action near Warneton, Belgium during the 3rd Battle of Ypres.

After the outbreak of WW2, Billy enlisted in the RAAF and trained to become a pilot at Pt Cook in Melbourne He very likely also trained at Laverton.

While stationed in Melbourne he married Joan Clucas, only daughter of Mr and Mrs J Clucas of Malvern, South Australia. Billy successfully trained as a pilot and was attached to 13 Squadron. Very likely he joined his 13 Squadron at Darwin in September 1941.

No. 13 Squadron flew the Lockheed Hudson, an American buillt light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft which equipped a number of RAAF Squadrons.  No. 13 Squadron was later stationed at Laha in the Dutch East Indies and carried out reconnaissaince flights to determine Japanese incursions in the Northern Celebes area.

After Pearl Harbour was attacked on 17/12/1941 a decision was later made to withdraw No.13 Squadron to Darwin but 2 crews volunteered to remain behind to carry out a final mission in the area. On 19/1/1942 a Hudson A16-64, with a crew comprising F/Lt Willing, Sgt Field, Sgt Rutter and LAC Cunneen, took off from Laha on a photographic mission over Kena Bay in the Panata area of Northern Celebes. The aircraft was apparantly chased and shot down by a Japanese Zero after a 35 minute chase among the clouds. Billy left behind a widow and his mother.