SHANNON, John Robert
| Service Number: | 433232 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 February 1943 |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer |
| Last Unit: | Aircrew Holding Units (UK) |
| Born: | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 4 July 1924 |
| Home Town: | Sale, Gippsland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Telopea Park School and Canberra High School |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Natural causes, Sale, Victoria, 25 November 2015, aged 91 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 27 Feb 1943: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman 2 (WW2), 433232, Woolloomooloo, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Feb 1943: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, 433232, RAAF Personnel / Embarkation / Holding Units | |
| 18 Jan 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, 433232, Aircrew Holding Units (UK), 14 Aircrew Holding Unit | |
| 18 Jan 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, 433232, RAAF Personnel / Embarkation / Holding Units |
Help us honour John Robert Shannon's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Julianne Ryan
Born 4 January 1924 in his parent's house in Jardine Street, Kingston.
Father Robert Shannon (served in WWI)
Nephew of Frank Kaye (served in WWI)
He went to school at Telopea Park and Canberra High, ACT.
14/4/1942 he joined the 43rd Squadron of the Air Training Corps.
Described on enlisting as 5' 8½" tall, 128 pounds, chest 30½-34½", fair complexion,
blue eyes, fair hair, scars right knee, right thigh, left shin, right back, Church of England.
John remembered with satisfaction "receiving his Wings at Point Cook, the spiritual home of the RAAF, and having his wings pinned on by Air-Vice Marshal Sir Richard ("Dickie") Williams, the spiritual father of the RAAF.
He went to England via America including sailing from New York to England in the biggest convoy ever to cross the Atlantic. He did know at the time that D-Day was only three weeks away and that the ships were full of US troops and equipment for the Invasion. In the UK he was once caught in a severe storm and had to land in a great hurry. By chance he landed on the airfield where Douglas Bader crashed and lost his legs in 1936.
Further pilot training was discontinued and he found himself in Air Traffic Control at Waddington with RAAF squadrons 463 and 467."
He married his wife Dorothy on 31 March 1945 whilst in England. Keith Harding was his best man and Jack Marshall a groomsman. Keith's father, Arthur Harding, served with John's father in World War 1. One of his guests was to be Don Easton who was also based near Lincoln but who was killed in action on 21 March 1945.
After the war John spent about 40 years with the Department of Immigration, including 14 years in Britain and Germany. He retired to Sale, Victoria, where he died on 25 November 2015.
Submitted by Julianne T Ryan, 20/9/2016. Lest we forget.
Courtesy of ACT Memorial.
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