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On the 29/30th May 1944
Sergeant Bruce Halligan was serving as an Air Gunner on board Wellington Mk. X LN-318
when it took off from Amendola, Italy
to bomb the airfield at Feuersbrunn, Fels am Wagram in
Austria. It was hit by flak and crashed near Hofstatten, East of Graz, Austria,
all of the crew were captured and became Prisoners of War.
The crew consisted of:
|
Name |
Service |
Trade |
Hometown |
POW Camp |
|
F/O Herbert Keen - POW |
RAAF |
Pilot |
Randwick, N.S.W |
L3 |
|
F/Lt William Todd - POW |
RAAF |
Navigator |
- |
L3 |
|
Sgt. James Gallagher - POW |
RAFVR |
Bomb Aimer |
Scotland |
L7 |
|
Sgt. Edward Yeo- POW |
RAFVR |
W/Op/AG |
Peckham, London |
L7 |
|
Sgt B.T Halligan - POW |
RAAF |
Air Gunner |
- |
L7 |
Sergeant
Bruce Halligan RAAF volunteered in 1942 aged 18 for the
RAAF,training at Narrandorra,New South Wales before doing his
Operational Training at Moreton-in-the-Marsh. Despite hoping
to be a pilot, Brian failed his "Scrub test" and was
remustered as a rear gunner. In 1943 he was posted to Foggia,
Italy. His brother Neville was also in the Air force, serving
in 37 squadron.
At the POW Camp at Bankau,the German officer who shot
down the Wellington visited Brian in hospital and said to him
in perfect English "You are too young to be fighting the
war-you should be home with your mother". Brian replied
"Sir, I couldn’t agree more". It was to be six
weeks before his mother had the news that he was safe after
notification that he was missing.
During his time as a POW, Brian represented Australia
in Cricket matches between the Australian and English POW’s.
Near the end of the war with the Russians taking Berlin, Brian
and his pilot "Bruce" Keen met up at Luckenwald near
Berlin having been released by the Russians and arrived at
American lines at the Elbe River before sailing home on the
"Orion".
Brian Halligan and his brother Neville were both talented
cricketers and tennis players in their native Australia. Brian
retired from his job as a solicitor and he and his brother
currently reside in Australia.
For
details of Pilot Bruce Keen's time as a Prisoner of War please see
the tribute Through
the Wire.
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