HOUSTON, James Wilson Rook
| Service Number: | 409475 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 September 1941, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Pilot Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 5 Operational Training Unit Forest Hill |
| Born: | Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia , 28 June 1915 |
| Home Town: | Mulgrave, Monash, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Geelong College, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk at Vacuum Oil Company Melbourne |
| Died: | Accidental, Tocumwal, New South Wales, Australia, 19 June 1944, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
Tocumwal War Cemetery Cemetery B A 8 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Nar Nar Goon Vacuum Oil Company Pty Ltd. Honour Roll |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flying Officer, 409475 | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Sep 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, 409475, No. 5 Operational Training Unit Forest Hill, Melbourne, Vic. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of the Revd. Alexander Somerville Houston and Ethel Mary Houston; husband of Helen Margaret Houston, of Mulgrave, Victoria. B.A. (Melbourne).
James Wilson Rock Houston was 26 years old and worked as a Clerk at the Vacuum Oil Company in Melbourne before enlisting as Aircrew in the RAAF on 12 September 1941. He served with various units prior to being posted to 5 OTU at Tocumwal on 25 April 1944.
On 19 June 1944 both James and Navigator PO Levy were operating Beaufighter A19-125 carrying out air to ground gunnery practice to the North-East of Tocumwal. Flying Officer Houston attempted to pull out of a dive too late and struck a tree with the wing tip. Unable to gain control of the aircraft it struck the ground and both aircrew were killed.
Acting Chaplain-General (Presbyterian) Rev. A. S. Houston, of St. Andrew's Church, Box Hill, has been Informed that his younger son Flying-Officer Wilson Houston, was killed on Monday last in an air accident in New South Wales. F.-O. Houston was an old boy of Geelong College, and was recently married.
SIC ITUR AD ASTRA
The motto of The Geelong College is 'Sic Itur Ad Astra'. The translation of the latin phrase Macte animo … sic itur ad astra adopted by the College for many years has been 'Be of courage … thus is the way to the stars' . The motto was chosen by one of the original two assistant masters of 1861, George F Hutton. The School often paraphrases the motto as 'Reach for the Stars'
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