Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Flying Officer Stanton has flown on many operational sorties over Italy, Yugoslavia, Austria and Bulgaria. He has continually displayed a high standard of courage and zeal and has at all time performed his allotted tasks in an exemplary manner.

On many occasions this officer’s fine leadership and skill have been responsible for the extraction of his aircraft and crew from perilous situations.

In April 1944 following an attack on an objective in Budapest his aircraft was attacked by a Focke Wuft 190 but after a short engagement the enemy aircraft was destroyed.

NOTHING fazes decorated war hero Dean Stanton – not even a devastating fire which wiped out the properties of his three sons.

The retired Kangaroo Island farmer last week celebrated his 98th birthday in Kingscote SE, the coastal town where he and his wife, Mamie, 82, have been sheltering since they were evacuated from their home two weeks ago at the height of a fire started by lightning strikes in a national park.

He was joined around a barbecue in a park by his sons, their wives and their children – all of whom have been left without their homes in the wake of the fire which claimed two lives, destroyed more than 60 homes, killed an estimated 100,000 sheep and cattle, wiped out commercial forestry plantations and devastated native flora and fauna.

Rather than dwelling on what his family had lost, Mr Stanton – who flew 43 missions as a 22-year-old bomber pilot during World War II – spent the afternoon celebrating his action-packed life with a few cold beers.

“You can’t do anything about what has happened,” he said. “You can’t change fate.”

Mr Stanton was 25 when he was given £10 by the Commonwealth Government to buy the tools needed to help clear scrub from a block of land near Stokes Bay.

Born at Booleroo Centre, in the Mid North, in 1922, he moved to KI after the war to become a farmer.

His three sons – Paul, Richard and John – joined him, with the latter two acquiring neighbouring properties on Stokes Bay Rd. Paul eventually took over the farm started by his father when he retired.

Together with his wife, Katja, he turned it into “Paul’s Place” – a petting zoo for children , where he opened his gates to allow families to spend time with sheep, cows and a variety of native animals, including koalas and emus.

John and his wife, Carol, transformed a large portion of their land into a native bush garden and nursery which became renowned across Australia for its 1300 species, while Richard and his wife, Kate, developed a national prizewinning Poll Dorset and Merino sheep stud. All three properties were completely destroyed when fire swept through the western side of KI on January 10, leaving them without their homes and their livelihoods.

After being forced to destroy hundreds of terribly burnt sheep and other animals, the three sons – and their sons – spent many hours last week outside Mr Stanton’s house on top of a hill overlooking the nearby Lathami Conservation Park, using their farm firefighting units to stop flames from reaching its front door.

Mr Stanton was taken there by The Advertiser to retrieve his war medals, which include a Distinguished Flying Cross.

Upon arrival, his sons were waiting for the fire to flare again and reassured Mr Stanton his medals were safe, offering him a chair to sit and “watch the action” .

Driving back to Kingscote along Stokes Bay Rd, Mr Stanton surveyed the blackened paddocks and twisted remains of his neighbours’ homes and farms. The destruction was obvious for kilometre after kilometre until we reached the Playford Hwy.

Not once did Mr Stanton show distress or sadness. Stoic and calm, he reflected dispassionately on how much had been lost as the fire continued its relentless march.

As one of KI’s oldest residents , Mr Stanton has faced the wrath of nature before.

He recalls the fire of 1974, which burnt more of the island than the latest conflagration, and the 2007 inferno. He is optimistic his sons – and his home for the past 73 years – will recover and that life, eventually, will return to normal.

“They are good boys,” he said. “They work hard, they don’t complain and they do what needs to be done.

“We are a strong community and a good community. We will get over this, like we have in the past, and move on.”


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