Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

On 29th December 1942 my observer, Sgt Bert Webb, and I were briefed for our third operation over Timor, in company with two other crews - a strafing attack on a Japanese post at the village of Betano. On the way across the Timor Sea it was very stormy and the three aircraft became separated. Over Timor I found one of the others and we made our attacks together.

I pulled up low over the jungle out of my strafing dive, but there was one dead tree standing up directly in my path, much higher than the canopy. I could not avoid it. We smashed through the tree and wound up with branches snapped off in both engines. I felt very angry. My first thought was, “What a bastard. No-one will ever know what happened to us – we’ll just be reported missing.”

(The significance of this exclamation – and that he told it to his daughter - is that none of Glen’s family ever knew him to swear throughout his life.)

The Beaufighter staggered on as far as the coast, but it was clear it could not possibly cross the 300 miles of ocean back to base. We had been briefed that our aircraft must not fall into Japanese hands because they carried radar, having been built as night fighters in England, so I picked a spot ¾ of a mile offshore and ditched there. It was a fairly heavy landing and while I got out OK, Bert’s hatch was jammed shut. I kicked in the Perspex canopy over his position and he climbed out. Fortunately we were both strong swimmers and we swam ashore in our full kit, including flying boots, helped by our Mae Wests.

The first night we slept in a deserted village and were eaten alive by mosquitos. We walked inland all the second day and late in the afternoon met a Timorese who pulled a matchbox out of his pocket to show us a note inside it. It read, “This man can be trusted” and was dated only the day before.

He gave us some eggs to eat – they were pretty stale but we dared not offend him, so we ate them – and insisted that we have a sleep. We slept for a time and then followed him as he led us to a Commando outpost. The Commandos, members of 2/2 Independent Company, greeted us laconically, “Well look who’s here – the Air Force has arrived!”

On the night of January 9/10 1943 we were evacuated with the majority of the Commandos on HMAS Arunta – many of the Timorese from around Dili were helping the Japanese to track them down and it had become too dangerous for them to remain.

When we reached Darwin we were placed in quarantine in case we were infected with malaria. After a day or two both Bert and I came down with it. We were nursed in flyscreen cages so that mosquitos could not bite us and become malaria carriers.

After discharge from hospital I returned to 31 Squadron at Coomalie Creek, but then an incident occurred which ended my flying. Before I could fly another op, one evening I was standing in front of a Beaufighter which was being serviced when the armourer’s screwdriver slipped causing the four cannon in the nose to fire – right above my head. Both my eardrums were shattered and I was ruled unfit to fly.

I was posted to 2 Fighter Control Unit, New Lambton, to train in radar, then posted to 109 Mobile Fighter Control Unit on Goodenough Island, off PNG. Later the unit moved to Dobodura on the PNG mainland. In 1945 I was posted to 111 Fighter Control Unit which took part in the landing on Labuan Island in June 1945. I was discharged in January 1946.