Aircraftman Class 1 William Ernest Menzies, No. 10 Squadron
Australian War MemorialWilliam Menzies was born on 12 December 1919, one of four children born to Allan and Mabel Menzies.
William, his brothers Alan and George, and his sister Isobel, grew up in Belmont, near Newcastle in New South Wales. The family were respected members of their local mining community.
William enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in May 1940, and after six months training, embarked with his squadron for the war in Europe.
He served in No. 10 Squadron, whose main function was to hunt the waters off Western Europe for German U-boats, particularly in the Bay of Biscay on the east coast of occupied France. This was vital work to protect British and American shipping but it also attracted significant attacks from German fighter planes.
At 2.15 in the morning on 8 August 1942, William set off on an anti-submarine raid in the Bay of Biscay aboard his Sunderland patrol bomber.
At approximately 6.30pm the plane sent out an SOS signal. Despite an extensive search, no further trace of the aircraft was found. William and his six fellow crew members were initially reported missing. William’s family in Australia was informed of his having gone missing and knew the likelihood of his fate but held out hope that he may one day be found.
William’s older brother Alan also served in the RAAF. On 11 October 1942, just two months after his brother was reported missing, Alan died when his Spitfire crashed during a dog fight with German fighters.
In March 1943, the Menzies family’s fears were realised when William was officially pronounced to be presumed killed, a sad confirmation that the family had lost two sons in just over two months.
William was 22 years old.
In a further tragedy for the family, William’s father passed away soon after hearing confirmation of his son’s death.
The brothers’ names are commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede in England, along with the names of over 20,000 airmen from the Second World War who have no known grave.
David Sutton, Historian, Military History Section
Image: German U-boat under attack by a Sunderland of No 10 squadron RAAF in June 1942.
