ROYDHOUSE, Donald Jack
| Service Number: | 419162 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 July 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 461 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Perth Western Australia , 29 January 1923 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Geelong College, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 February 2011, aged 88 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 17 Jul 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 419162 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct 1942: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman | |
| 24 Aug 1944: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, No. 461 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| 4 Jan 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 419162 | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement Flying Officer, 419162, No. 461 Squadron (RAAF) |
Help us honour Donald Jack Roydhouse's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Marshall Sheehan
Don Roydhouse was Navigator on Norman Sheehans crew and when Norman Sheehan became tour expired he became the Navigator on Vince McCauleys crew
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Flying Officer Donald Jack Roydhouse MiD (Service No:419162) enlisted in the RAAF as an Aircraftman on 17 July 1942. He served primarily as a Navigator with a Sunderland Flying Boat Squadron operating out of Pembroke, Wales and was a Flying Officer attached to 461 Squadron at Discharge on 4 January 1946. Flying Officer Roydhouse was awarded a Mention in Despatches in 1945. in He had served as a Corporal in the Geelong College Cadet Corps in Victoria prior to enlistment.
Born in 1923 in Perth Western Australia, Don was the eldest of two children of Jack Roydhouse MC (b1892 in Adelaide, South Australia) and Kathleen Ivy Finlay (b1896 in Perth, WA). Jack (a Teacher) and Kathleen married in Perth WA where Jack was School Master at Guidford Grammar School, Sports Master at Perth High School and Sales Manager for Ford Motor Coy in Perth. The family moved to Geelong, Victoria in the mid 1930s, where Jack was a Manager with the Ford Motor Coy.
Don attended Geelong College in Victoria, where he was a School Prefect, member of the 1st Cricket XI, College Tennis Champion and Corporal in the School Cadets. Don was a student when he enlisted in the RAAF and following his Discharge, he settled in Port Lonsdale, Victoria and in 1946 married Margaret Elwyn Madden (b1925 in Geelong, Victoria). Don had a Newsagency in Port Lonsdale before he and Margaret settled in Geelong where he owned The Camera House. Don competed in the Sydney to Hobart Race as well as smaller races, judged Moomba waterski-ing competitions and flew light planes throughout Australia. He was a committed member of Legacy - Secretary and President in 1962 and 1963. Don died in Melbourne in 2011 and Margaret in 2017.
Click images to start slideshow.