Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Thomas Frank Dimmock, known as Tom, was born on 20th April 1921 at Goondiwindi QLD, the youngest of 3 sons born to his parents Thomas and Kitty Dimmock.  His older brothers were Harold Edgar, known as Edgar, and Stanley John.  Tom was educated at Brisbane Grammar School from 1934-1938 and served 3 years in the School Artillery Cadets.  He went on to study engineering at the University of Queensland from 1938-1940 and while there he participated in the sports of rowing and shooting.  In late June 1940 Tom made application for aircrew of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).  While waiting to hear confirmation of that he served 5 months in the 9/49th Battalion Militia as a Private and was discharged to join the RAAF.

Tom, aged 19, enlisted for WW2 in the RAAF on 2nd March 1941 at No. 3 Recruiting Centre in Brisbane.  He’s described as being 5ft 10ins tall with a fair complexion, blue eyes and very fair hair.  His service number was 405300, his rank Aircraftman II (AC2) and he was assigned to No. 3 Initial Training School (No. 3 ITS) at Sandgate QLD.  In mid-March 1941 he was re-mustered to Aircrew V (P) and a month later to Aircrew II (P).  In late April he proceeded to No. 6 Elementary Flying Training School (No. 6 EFTS) at Tamworth NSW then at the end of June 1941 he proceeded to No. 3 Service Flying Training School (No. 3 SFTS) at Amberley Base in Brisbane QLD and it was here that he achieved his “Wings”…otherwise known as Flying Badge…on 27th August 1941 and re-mustered to Airman Pilot.  He then proceeded to No. 3 Embarkation Depot (ED) at Sandgate QLD in mid-October 1941, was appointed Temporary Sergeant and re-mustered to Aircrew Pilot.  In preparation for service overseas he proceeded to No. 2 ED at Bradfield Park NSW on 11th November 1941 where he was attached to the Royal Air Force (RAF) and embarked for training in Canada on 17th November 1941. 

After completing his training in Canada Tom proceeded to England UK where he disembarked on 5th February 1942.  He then proceeded to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre (No. 3 PRC) at Somerset House in Bournemouth.  In early March 1942 Tom proceeded to No. 15 (P) Advanced Flying Unit (AFU) at RAF Base Kirmington in North Lincolnshire.  These units acclimatized newly arrived pilots from the British Dominions to flying conditions in the UK.  All these aircrew were fully qualified and badged and received "advanced" training because so many pilots found the flying conditions in wartime UK airspace were completely different to the safer and generally clearer skies of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  These aircrew from overseas found the UK flying conditions very foreign and stressful, and accidents were becoming too high.  Thus the AFU's came into being to improve their chances of survival before they even reached the Operational Training Units (OTU).  While at RAF Kirmington Tom trained in Avro Anson and Airspeed Oxford aircraft. 

On 17th April 1942, just 3 days before his 21st birthday, Tom was promoted to Flight Sergeant.  In early April 1942 he proceeded to No. 14 OTU at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland where he trained with crews in night bombing raids flying Vickers Wellington Bombers.  It was while here that he would have received the devastating news that his brother Edgar had been killed.  Edgar had enlisted in the RAAF 3 months prior to Tom and after completing his training had been posted to No. 12 Squadron RAF, which at the time was based at RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire, 71 miles from Tom at RAF Cottesmore.  Edgar was the pilot of his Vickers Wellington Bomber that crashed in Belgium while on a bombing raid to Essen, Germany in the early morning of 3rd June 1942.  Edgar and 2 other crew were killed with 2 other crew taken prisoner.  Edgar was aged 30, married with a baby daughter. 

After completing his training at RAF Cottesmore, Tom was posted to No. 12 Squadron RAF at RAF Binbrook on 25th August 1942.  This had been Edgar’s Squadron so they had missed serving together by 3 months.  On 25th September 1942 the Squadron moved to RAF Wickenby at Lincolnshire and converted to using Avro Lancaster Heavy Bombers. 

It was from RAF Wickenby that Tom, as pilot of Avro Lancaster Bomber ED386 with a crew of 6, took off at 5.25pm on 23rd January 1943.  He was part of an 80 strong force of Lancasters and 3 Mosquitos and their mission was to bomb Dusseldorf, Germany.  Nothing was heard from his aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base.  Tom and his crew were initially declared “Missing” but that changed to “Missing Believed Killed” in February 1943.  Eventually it was confirmed by German sources that the plane had crashed at Bedburdyck, 4 miles NW of Grevenbroich in Germany, on 23rd January 1943.  All the crew were killed and they were all buried in the Municipal Cemetery at Munchen-Gladbach. 

In April 1946 the site of Rheinberg War Cemetery was chosen by the Army Graves Service for the assembly of Commonwealth graves recovered from numerous German cemeteries in the area.  Tom and his entire crew were re-interred at Rheinberg War Cemetery and now rest beside each other in plot 2, row C, graves 7-13.  Tom’s grave is number 7…he was 21 and the only Australian on board.  The crew were all aged in their early 20s…the navigator was a Canadian and the rest were all British.  Tom’s mother received a letter from his Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Hector Ivo Dabinett, written on 24th January 1943…the day after Tom was killed.  Wing Commander Dabinett had also been Edgar’s CO so he felt the pain of this mother who had lost 2 sons in 6 months to the war.  Wing Commander was born in New Zealand and had been in the RAF before the war.  He led the flypast over the Arc de Triumphe in Paris in 1939 and also led the first ever raid over Germany.     

A many as 100 sets of brothers lost their lives in the service of the RAAF during WW2.  Tom and Edgar were one of them and were even more unique because they both served in the same Squadron.  While serving with No. 12 Squadron RAF, 102 Australian personnel lost their lives. 

A Memorial Scroll from the King was presented to the next of kin of all members of His Majesty’s Forces who died on active service during WW2.

There is a Memorial at RAF Wickenby dedicated to the 1,080 men from RAF Squadrons 12 and 626 who lost their lives while on operations from that airfield in WW2.  Similarly, in the local Wickenby St Peter & Lawrence Church there can be found on a table in the nave a 35 page A5 booklet containing the rank, name & initial with the date of death of the casualties of No. 12 Squadron from its arrival at RAF Wickenby on the 25th September 1942 and No. 626 Squadron from its formation on the 7th November 1943, to the end of the war.  Tom’s name, and those of his crew, are in this booklet. 

Tom is commemorated on panel 121 of the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra ACT and the Roll of Honour 1939-1945 at the University of Queensland.  Tom and Edgar are both commemorated on 2 Memorials at Brisbane Grammar School in memory of former students who gave their lives in WW2…the WW2 Great Hall Honour Board and the Memorial Library Honour Roll. 

Thomas Frank Dimmock was awarded for service in WW2 the 1939-1945 Star, Air Crew Europe Star and the 1939-1945 War Medal.   

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith 6th September 2023.

Sources

https://www.birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/No._15_(Pilots)_Advanced_Flying_Unit_RAF

http://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=68143

https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/262306/