The Pilots Memorial - St. George, QLD
Posted by: 
Tuena
S 28° 02.198 E 148° 34.590
55J E 654964 N 6897737
A memorial listing two Australian pilots who served in New Guinea during World War Two.
Waymark Code: WMP7XQ
Location: Queensland, Australia
Date Posted: 07/16/2015
Views: 2
The memorial consists of separate sandstone tablets to which has been attached a brass plaque outlining the service of each pilot.
Warrant Officer Leonard Victor Waters 1924 - 1993
Waters was born at Euraba Mission near Boomi on June 20 1924. His family of 11 saw him leave school aged 13 to work as a ring barker & shearer. When WWII broke out he joined the Air Force a day before the Battle of the Coral Sea on August 24 1942. He worked as ground staff then trained as a flight mechanic. A shortage of pilots saw him volunteer for air crew in December 1943. He was accepted, trained with 148 others in Victoria with 48 accepted as pilots. He came 4th overall.
Flight Sergeant Leonard Waters was posted to 78th Fighter Squadron on Noemffer Island Western New Guinea in November 1944. He was the only Aboriginal pilot to fly in WWII. He flew a Kittyhawk with the words "Black Magic" painted on the nose of his plane.
After the war he returned to shearing & raising a large family at Cunnamulla, St. George & Brisbane. He died at Cunnamulla on August 24 1993 & was buried at St. George with full military honours.
Squadron Leader John Francis Jackson DFC 1908 - 1942
Born in Brisbane in 1908 Jackson moved to the St. George district at age 19 to manage a property owned by his father. He acquired a Stock & Station agency in town, learned to fly & purchased a plane.
He joined the RAAF at the outbreak of the Second World War & served in the Middle East as a fighter pilot with 3 Squadron which was equipped with Gloster Gladiator Bi-planes. In March 1942 he was given command of 75 Squadron which was equipped with Kittyhawks. It was sent to Port Morseby to defend against the invading Japanese.
He was shot down over Lae but managed to get back to base with the help of natives. Later he lead a flight of 5 Kittyhawks against a superior force of Japanese bombers & fighters & was shot down & killed on April 28, 1942. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his action in the Middle East & in New Guinea.
The air field at Port Morseby was renamed Jackson Field in his honour & later renamed Jackson Airport for its civilian use.
John Jackson is probably the only Australian who has an International Airport, in another country, named in his honour.
Website pertaining to the memorial: [Web Link]
List if there are any visiting hours:
Its on the banks of the Balonne River & ideally you would visit during the day.
Entrance fees (if it applies): 0.00
Type of memorial: Monument
|
Visit Instructions:
*(1.)* Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit.
*(2.)* If you have additional information about the memorial which is not listed in the waymark description, please notify the waymark owner to have it added, and please post the information in your visit log.